Health and Safety
by Friendship-Bravery-Souffles
Summary: Chapter 22 - And Your Enemies Closer - If that happened, I probably wouldn't be dreaming, I would be remembering: living and dying across time and space all over again. I'd be lost forever; in a place no one could come and find me, not even my Doctor.
1. Out on a Leaf

**Health and Safety: Chapter 1 – **_**Out on a Leaf **_

* * *

I am Clara Oswin Oswald, and my story is _not_ done, not yet. I'm not lost anymore, I'm safe, I'm with the Doctor, _my_ Doctor. He found me, and I am safe. Or at least as safe as I can be while we're still inside of his collapsing time stream.

There are voices echoing in my head, it feels like they are actually bouncing off the inside of my skull. They are his voices, my voices and the voices of a thousand thousand people I knew in countless other lives, lives that are mine but aren't my own. It's hard to tell what _is_ my own right now, what is me, what is real and what isn't… Are these voices actually inside my head, or are they coming from somewhere else? Amid all of the cries for help, the ringing of laughter, the broken sobbing, I keep hearing the same words.

_What I did, I did without choice.  
I know.  
In the name of peace and sanity.  
But not in the name of the Doctor_.

I had never seen that one, not once, and I'd seen _all_ of him so many times. I don't understand, how could I be scattered along his entire time stream and yet miss that one? Am I imagining it? Have I lost my mind? Am I starting to forget things? Where am I?

There is only one thing I know for certain is real, the pair of arms wrapped around me and the person that they're attached to. He is real. He came in here after me…

The Doctor's determined steps begin to falter, his march becoming more of a stagger, slowing as his breathing gets more laboured. My eyes feel like they are weighted, but I try to look up at him. It's almost heartbreaking how distraught his face is. A tiny part of me wants to tell him to just put me down and run, leave me and get out of here for goodness sake. But he would never listen, no more than I would if he told me to leave him behind.

That isn't what we do. We don't walk away, especially from each other. We run, _together_.

I can't tell him to leave, but I still want to say something to him, some words of encouragement or just of thanks, but my lips can't seem to form words right now, I can't seem to make my mind concentrate. Speaking isn't an option, but maybe I can reach out to him…

My arm quivers when I try to move it though, and instead of managing even just a simple touch I end up dropping the leaf, the most important leaf in human history.

The Doctor plods a few more steps before realizing what I've done, and then he turns around slowly. I want to tell him not to, to leave it, as much as that leaf means, it isn't worth it, it isn't worth him risking his safety any more than he already has by coming in here. But I still can't make my mouth cooperate, so the Doctor retraces his steps back a few feet and drops to his knees, trying to pick up the leaf without letting go of me.

"Doctor…" I finally managed to croak out. It almost feels like someone else's voice coming from my mouth.

His face turns to focus on me immediately, eyes brimming with concern.

Several ragged breaths later I manage to continue. It's a mad idea really, but it's all I can come up with right now.

"That leaf… it brought me to you, it took me home, and maybe it can take you too? It's the only thing that isn't you in here, other than me. Maybe it can find the way out?"

The Doctor looks hesitantly at the leaf, before a chorus of voices, _his_ voices chant out.

_Listen to her!_

A gentle breeze begins to blow, it's nothing like the time winds, they were sharp, cold gusts that tore me into a million pieces. This breeze is warm and calm, like its rolling off the sea on a beautiful summer day.

The Doctor studies me for a moment, and then turns his eyes to the leaf clenched in his hand. He closes his eyes and tosses the leaf into the wind. It flutters here and there, drifting away from us at an unnaturally slow pace, like its waiting for us to follow. The Doctor hauls himself back onto his feet, trailing after the leaf as it blows on the wind.

We might have been trudging for minutes, it might have been hours or possibly days, I don't know, I don't know if time even moves properly in here, is there time or is there just him? A _Time_ Lord? What is time made of..? The more steps he takes, the more the voices and images in my head come on rapidly, the lives that are mine but not my own, and the faces that are his but are not his own…

An abrupt falling sensation jolts my eyes open in fear as I feel the Doctor tip forward. We are no longer surrounded by the swirling mists and orange rock; instead we're sprawled out on the hard metal floor of the Doctor's tomb.

He pants for breath, lying flat out on his back with me awkwardly draped across him. Lifting my head I can see those beautiful lights, dancing in the center of the room where the console should be, shimmering and casting shadows on the dark room. Something is different about it now though, there is one odd streak of light tangled into it, not white like the rest of the threads, but crimson. It isn't like when the Great Intelligence threw itself into the time stream. That had lit the whole thing red like an infected wound; this wasn't like that at all. Just one bit of crimson tucked in with all the white, glowing brightly.

"That's you Clara." The Doctor tells me in a hushed tone, watching it with me.

The gravity of the statement is overwhelming. My seemingly small life quite literally tied into his.

"My Clara…" He says, bringing his forehead up to rest against mine. It's almost absurd how comforting that gesture is to me right now. I just close my eyes and enjoy it for a moment.

"We, we still need to get out of here." I remind him some minutes later.

The Doctor pushes himself into a sitting position, taking in our surroundings.

"Where did the others go?" I ask him.

"I told Vastra to get back to the TARDIS. The old girl won't leave as long as she knows I'm still here though, she's stubborn that way, emergency protocols or not."

I try to move off of him so he can get up, but my arms give out almost as soon as I put weight on them, sending me right back to being sprawled against his chest.

"Sorry, I'm fine…"

The Doctor makes an irritated noise.

"Clara, don't you dare try to shrug this off. I don't even know how you are conscious right now. Moving is out of the question."

He slips himself from under me somehow, standing and cracking his neck before reaching down to pick me up again. I don't like this, being helpless, I really don't.

"You went in there too… How come you can move?"

He shushes me instead of answering before starting the descent down the steps of the console room. As we traverse the dead TARDIS, the same dizziness starts to come over me as when we came in, except this time its way worse… I feel my head loll back against the Doctor's shoulder, and suddenly I am not seeing the dark corridors anymore…

_The whole room was on fire, her hand stung from where she had burned it prying open the laboratory doors. She was Clarald Aswin, Chief Biologist for the South American Tropical Rainforest Protection Agency. She knew that the whole building was doomed to be consumed by the blaze, which was almost certainly the work of arson. There was no telling how badly this inferno would damage the forest around her; the fire had destroyed their communication equipment so there was no help coming. The forest was already disappearing at a dangerous rate, this could destroy it… She slammed the door behind her, ignoring the pain as she ran towards a small parcel she'd helped an intern box up earlier that morning. Inside was a collection of seeds from some of the most endangered plants in the rainforest. They were going to be shipped to a planet called Cheem. The environment there had been deemed perfect for them, and it was the hope that an off world colony would help preserve them and give them a chance to grow, maybe even evolve. Smoke was filling the room and the walls were charring as the flames lapped at them. She grabbed the box and dropped it onto the transmat, typing in coordinates for the main office in Sao Paulo. The box slowly dematerialized; spending what little was left of the generator's power. Despite the situation, she laughed, the machine had always been incredibly unreliable, so it was nice that it decided to work in a pinch. Her task completed, she tried to take a steadying breath, but the room was so smoky now that it made her choke. Her eyes were watering and there was no escape. She sat down against the wall farthest from the flames, closed her eyes and began to turn her mother's ring. She had no way out, but at least she had saved something... Some small thing would survive this, and who knew what it would end up doing…_

"Clara!" A voice echoes, as if very far away, then suddenly I feel strong hands clasping the sides of my face, it's as if someone had reached out and actually pulled me back into consciousness.

My eyes shoot open, and a loud noise resonates through the air, like someone has snapped a leather belt, or cracked a whip. I'm not in a burning building, but rather on the ground in the middle of a graveyard. The dead TARDIS looms just behind us and the Doctor is leaning over me, with both his hands on either side of my face.

Panicking, I start to flail and roll out of the Doctor's grasp. I know, or at least I think I know I'm not in that building anymore, but I still feel like I am burning on the inside.

"Clara?" He calls to me again, this time it doesn't echo but his hands fly back to my face.

"Oh Gods Clara, you're burning up… Your head is trying to sort out what just happened, the TARDIS telepathic circuits and the dimensioning forces, they're making it harder, they're waking the ideas up in your head. Your body is just _brimming_ with time energy right now... I can't put you through the vortex that would just be cruel…"

"We've got to get out of here though."

"Yes, but, the TARDIS, the _real_ TARDIS is the only way. And her telepathic circuits are still very much alive, much more powerful than what was in there."

"I don't see how we have much of a choice here. I don't think this place is safe."

He starts to shake his head, but picks me up again.

The graveyard feels eerie, the sort of serene stillness from before gone. When the TARDIS, the proper one, still smaller on the outside, comes into view, I'm not sure whether to be relived or not.

"Sir!" Strax's voice calls out, suddenly appearing from behind a large grave stone.

"Doctor!" Jenny darts out from across the way.

Vastra follows behind Jenny, giving the Doctor a stern look. She holds her arms out, offering to take me from him, but he shakes his head and continues towards the TARDIS, pulling me tighter to him. He turns and uses his back to push the doors open, crossing the threshold with me clinging to him.


	2. A Place to Call Home

**Health and Safety: Chapter 2 – **_**A Place to Call Home **_

* * *

The three Victorian investigators follow behind us into the TARDIS. Jenny quickly moves to one of the chairs by the console, motioning to the Doctor.

"Set her here Doctor, I'll look after her while you get us out of this horrid place." Jenny offers, but the Doctor shakes his head again.

"Activate emergency protocol four nine seven!" He calls out, almost immediately being answered by a female voice.

"Command recognized, voice override controls activated. Warning, the accuracy of this emergency protocol cannot be guaranteed. Please state your desired destination."

If I had more energy, I would laugh. Since when has the TARDIS ever had reliable accuracy even when flown manually? Especially when flown manually… I am willing to chalk up at least some of our getting lost to pilot error.

"Maitland Residence, London England, May 11th 2013!"

The TARDIS begins to whine, and my eyes start slipping shut. I can hear Vastra arguing with the Doctor's choice of destination.

"Doctor, please, I am aware that you are rather distraught at this moment, and understandably so, but take us back to Paternoster Row, to our house. We can protect you there, both of you. You have to be utterly drained after doing something as foolish as entering your own time stream! You both need rest right now; in our home we can keep you safe at least. This girl's home is defenseless!"

"It's not really her home. But it's as close to home as I can take her to. I'm not bringing her anywhere near Victorian London right now. She is trying to sort goodness knows how many lives in her head. How can she remember who she is if I take her into your house? She will have memories of that, memories of words and truth and… Just no, I won't take her there." He sounds terrified at the mere prospect of doing that.

He's right of course; the Maitland's isn't my home, just the house I am living in. A home is a lot more; it's not about the walls and the roof or the rooms. A home is a where you belong, where you can feel at ease, somewhere you feel safe even if you're not. As unfriendly as the TARDIS has been to me, I have to admit the snog box has started to feel more home like than anywhere else right now. Because when I am in the TARDIS… home is where the heart is right?

He said I can't stay in here though; something about the telepathic circuits, so I guess the Maitland's is our next best plan. The Doctor going anywhere near my Dad's place, especially with me like this is a bad plan. Dad would probably remember he was a champion high school boxer first, and stop to ask questions later.

Hang on a minute though, we're bringing a potato and a lizard woman with us, to the Maitland house, where I have tried very hard to keep George in the dark about all of this, and didn't the Doctor give the TARDIS a date in the past? I open my mouth to start voicing some of these concerns, but the console room vanishes before my eyes.

_She was young, far too young to be so ill. Charlotte Abigail Lux. She was laying in what looked like a hospital bed, wired up to an IV machine that was pumping pain killers into her veins. A mask covered her mouth and nose, delivering the oxygen her lungs were far too weak to find on their own. Her father looked over her, tears in his eyes, holding her hand, telling her that everything would be okay, that she wasn't going to be alone. A heart rate monitor was beeping somewhere out of sight, but the beeps were coming ever slower, petering down to almost nothing. She could feel herself slipping away. When her body broke a last breath, everything went still, and then suddenly she was surrounded by books in the most beautiful room she could ever have imagined. After spinning around a few times, taking it all in, a kind looking man with round glasses and a tailored suit waved to her in welcome, asking her to come with him to see her new home. The pain was gone, she was free…_

"Clara, hang on, stay with me!"

The loud cracking sound brings me back again; the Doctor's face is right over mine, his hand on my cheek. I'm still trying to take in what is around me when I hear the unmistakable sound of wood being smashed in.

"What did you do that for? You was asked to _open_ the door, not _break_ it!" Jenny cries.

"I was ordered to gain admission into this building as quickly as possible. Demolishing the weak biological structure barring the door was by far the most efficient method of gaining entry." Strax replies hotly.

The same sudden panic hits me as when I had awoken in the graveyard, but the Doctor seemed to anticipate it this time and cradles me into him, whispering something in my ear and crossing though a doorway.

We're inside the Maitland house, and the door had most certainly been broken down. That was going to take some explaining to George…

"Sorry _girl_." Strax says uncomfortably to me, shifting on his tiny legs.

"Any chance you can fix it?" I ask him.

"I shall do my best." He replies grudgingly, turning to the splintered remains of the front door.

Jenny and Vastra exchange a look, both seeming to be on edge, but before either of them can say anything; the Doctor begins climbing the stairs, going all the way up to the attic where he tenderly sets me onto my small bed, sitting next to me and holding my hand.

Now that he has stopped, he really does look exhausted. His face is worn, his eyes seem haunted and he looks old for once, all of his usual enthusiasm and energy spent.

There's a creak on the stairs and Jenny nervously peers into my room before tip toeing in and setting something on the table next to my bed.

"Doctor?"

He makes a noncommittal sound of recognition without looking up at her.

"Madam is, she is very worried about us being here… After all that has happened today…"

"Clara needs a few hours at least, I can't let her lose herself, I'm not sure what is happening to her and I don't know what going somewhere she… she lived as an echo will do to her. The TARDIS isn't any good right now either, the telepathic circuits will make it harder for her to sort out her reality, to remember."

His free hand moves to run through my hair now, very carefully.

Jenny nods, before leaving my room, looking just as unsure as when she had come in. I can hear her hushed voice speaking to her wife from the second floor, though I can't make out the words.

A cool cloth drapes carefully on my forehead, which feels so good I can't help but sigh a little. Jenny must have brought up a bowl of cold water… The Doctor leaves it for a few minutes, and then flips it to the other side.

"You should probably try to sleep." He suggests.

I shake my head. There's no way I want to sleep right now, not with what keeps happening when I slip out of consciousness accidentally. If he wants me to ground myself in reality, sleeping isn't in my best interest. He clenches his hands and gives me a firm glance, willing me to give in. Trying to deflect his attentions, I shift closer to the wall, giving him room to lay down if he wants to.

"You look like you need a nap too."

He sighs in defeat and drops down onto the bed beside me, pulling an arm around me.

"Twenty minute power nap, that's all." He says, whether to himself or to me I'm not sure.

It doesn't take long for his breathing to even out after his eyes close. It's always an odd sight, the Doctor sleeping, at rest, not dashing about madly like he is afraid to stop. Twenty minutes pass, but he doesn't wake up and I don't wake him up. He needs this.

In the quiet dark, tucked into the side of a peaceful Doctor, my thoughts start to organize themselves again, coming easier. Then I remember there is a bit of a problem, not only have we broken down the front door, we have also brought a lizard woman from the dawn of time and a gnome like Victorian butler in the Maitland house… oh dear… But then, the Doctor had brought us _back_ in time, back to about a week ago. George had taken the kids to his in-laws for a few days, leaving me free to travel with the Doctor for a while. So no one will walk in on us I suppose and I don't remember the door looking off when I got back…

Looking at my clock now and again I watch the minutes slowly slip away. It is so simple, to see time represented by numbers on a clock, such a straightforward device keeping track of such a powerful force. One hour passes, then two, and the Doctor is still asleep. I'm feeling much too content here, dozing off would be so easy... My eyes start closing and I am almost lulled to sleep by the sound of a double heart beat when Jenny reappears in my room.

"Doctor! Someone is watching the house, or at least we think they are. People is gathering at the corner of the street, been doing so for the last few minutes, more coming all the time. Madame is keeping watch at the front door and Strax is at the back. We can't protect this place if they decide to make a move on it." She says, highly distressed.

The Doctor sits up groggily, taking in what she has said a little slower than usual.

"Doctor, I know you have your reservations about bringing her to our house, but at least there we can keep your bodies safe, as for Miss Clara's mind, you can probably do something for it can't you?"

Suddenly it makes sense. That's why I woke up twice to find his hands on my face; he's trying to reach out to me with his own telepathy, trying to touch our minds, pull me back with his. I can't let him do that, I'm not letting him _anywhere_ near my head right now; he doesn't need to see in there…

"I'll be okay Doctor." I assure him.

He doesn't seem to like it, but he gets off of the bed and straightens his coat. I manage to get up without help, which is a pleasant feeling. I still ache, but my fever feels like it's gone down, we are making progress. I need some help walking, but it is better to use the Doctor as a crutch than need him to carry me outright…

Vastra's face looks very relieved when she sees us come down the stairs behind her wife.

"You're not going anywhere near the observatory, understand?" The Doctor says sharply to me.

"Okay…"

"Because that is where your connection will be strongest. That is where she… you…"

"Where I had to try to find a _single_ word to get your sulking self off of that cloud." I manage to say lightly, smiling at him. That I remember very well for some reason.

"Yeah." He says, smiling back at me fondly.

"Sir, no one has attempted to gain the element of surprise by entering through the yard of back." Strax informs us.

"Time to get going while the going is good then." The Doctor says, clapping his hands together.

We rush towards the TARDIS, parked right outside the Maitland's door, which I notice has been totally repaired. Good as new, possibly better actually. Come to think of it George did ask me if I'd painted it when he was away, I offhandedly told him my 'boyfriend' did it.

Walking into the TARDIS is not a pleasant experience after my head had been clearing. The Doctor braces me against him, calling out for the vocal override controls again. The same voice replies, warning us and then asking for a destination.

"Victorian London-"

The Doctor's voice is cut off as the TARDIS suddenly jumps to life, beginning to move before he could finish…


	3. Knowing Why

**Health and Safety: Chapter 3 – **_**Knowing Why **_

* * *

The inhabitants of Paternoster Row swap nervous glances as we sail through the time vortex. No one on board this snog box can say where we're going to end up. The Doctor's hands are pressed against my face again, seemingly more worried about me than the fact that we could land somewhere decidedly not nice. I start to breathe heavily and despite myself, my eyes start slipping shut _again_, his voice is calling me but his face is fading away...

_Sara Clisald was reading under the shade of an old maple tree. She was far enough away from her brother's cricket match so that she wasn't in danger of getting hit by a stray ball, but was still close enough that she could hear him laughing and shouting with his friends. Her brother loved playing cricket; it was his escape from a stressful job, his time to just have fun and not worry. While she'd never been as keen on the game, Sara loved to see her brother so happy, and she often came to watch them play. She looked up from her novel to see a handsome blond man appear from out of the blue. He approached her brother and asked if he could join them. Despite her best efforts to continue reading her book, Sara spent most of the afternoon watching this strange man. When it began to get dark out, he graciously thanked her brother for including him, and tipped his hat in her general direction. She felt herself blush a little as she gave him a wave. She'd __always believed her brother never looked more cheerful than when he was out on a pitch, but this man had seemed even happier, she thought he must have had a very hard life indeed to take such pleasure in something as simple as a friendly game with strangers…_

As soon as my eyes are wide again, the cracking noise bounces off the TARDIS walls, echoing because of the enclosed space. The Doctor's face is right in front of me, his eyes tightly shut and lips curled into a grimace.

I have no doubts about what he is trying to do now; he's reaching out to me with his mind, meaning to protect me from getting lost in myself. The thought of him in my head scares me. I know that a Time Lord has powerful telepathic capabilities, the Doctor rarely uses them, but I know what he can do…he could explore my mind as easily as reading a book if he wanted to.

The TARDIS falls silent. And no one wants to be the first to look out the door to check where we've ended up. Strax eventually steps forward, standing up into a rigid posture.

"I shall claim this land for the glory of the Sontaran Empire!" He declares as he marches to the door, throwing it open and exiting in a dramatic fashion that shouldn't be possible for such a small being.

Vastra turns to her wife.

"Jenny dear, please try to locate the wardrobe and bring the spare set of swords."

"Right away madam."

The Doctor has barely moved at all. I keep my eyes trained on the ground in order to avoid his gaze. Jenny returns a few minutes later carrying a pair of short swords. She ties a silk sash around her waist and tucks one sword into it, before passing the other and a similar sash to her wife. Strax's head reappears at the TARDIS doors.

"After preliminary scouting, I have concluded that it might not be worth the effort to claim this land after all…"

Vastra takes Jenny's hand and follows Strax back out the door, with the Doctor and I bringing up the rear.

As soon as we step outside of the TARDIS, the temperature skyrockets; a bright sun is right over our heads, beating down on us. There is _nothing_ as far as I can see except for tough yellowed grass and dust. The TARDIS has apparently brought us to the middle of nowhere. Off in the distance, I can see some faint outlines that appear to be moving, but they are too far away to be sure.

"Shut the door." The Doctor says to Jenny before taking a few more steps forward, moving me farther away from the TARDIS and taking in our the surroundings.

"Sir, may I request a report as to our current location in order to best plan our next strategy?"

The Doctor makes sure I can stand on my own before crouching down, running his hand over the ground, picking up a handful of dust and letting it trickle through his fingers. He looks worried.

"Earth as far as I can tell, North American Prairies based on the plant life, or the lack thereof… Not much else to go on right now."

Off in the distance, that outline really does seem to be getting closer.

"Doctor." I point to the horizon, my other hand finding his without thinking about it, closing my fingers around his giving a gentle squeeze. Vastra's gaze follows my finger to where I am pointing, eyeing up the figures in the distance, she uses one hand to loosen the sword from the scabbard at her hip while taking a step back to put herself in front of Jenny. The day's events have made us all wary for the people we love it would seem.

Wait, what? Oh, no, no no no no no…

I scrunch my eyes shut like it will somehow undo the thought. My strained expression brings the Doctor's worry back to me instead of whatever might be coming towards us, his hands flying to my face like I'm about to vanish on him. I bat them away and turn my head so I'm not looking him.

But that's it isn't it? I'm done. Finished. I can't tell myself no anymore. I can deny it to everyone else, and I certainly will, or feign ignorance at least, but I can't make a convincing lie to myself, I can't _trick_ myself, not once a day, not twice a day, not even a hundred times a day.

Because why else would I have done what I did..? When I asked River what would happen to me, I already knew. The Doctor had told Simeon, or the Great Intelligence, or whatever it was. Anyone that entered the Doctor's time stream would be scattered across the tracts of his tears, dying but living as echoes all across of time and space.

And I didn't need River to tell me that the echoes wouldn't be the 'real' me. The Doctor had already told me that on our first time out, at Akhaten. When Merry had thought she should give herself up, he had told her exactly what that meant. That meant no more Merry Gajelh, and because she was unique in the universe, as we all are, that wouldn't be a sacrifice, that would be a waste.

What I did wasn't sacrificing myself though, not really. I wasn't some innocent lamb brought to the slaughter. I wasn't giving myself up, I was _protecting_ him, my Doctor, the only way I could. It wasn't a passive decision, it wasn't a rash decision. Nobody made me do it, nobody asked me to do it. I _chose_ to step into his time stream, knowing exactly what the consequences would be.

But that leaves the why, _why_ would I do that. Why would I willingly and knowingly do what I did? There is only one possible answer; I can't con myself with anything else.

I did it because I love him.

And now I've said it, or rather just thought it properly, connected those words together, those words I should not be allowed to think.

_It's the only way to save him, isn't it?_

That's what I asked River. It was Vastra who went outside, worried about everyone else.

_A universe without the Doctor. There will be consequences._

To me it wasn't about the universe, instead of worrying about the uncountable lives he has touched I was only terrified for him, one single person whose entire life was being altered and attacked from within.

The Doctor has moved so I am facing him again, his eyes running over me with a questioning look. His hands are easing up to my face but I pull them down onto my shoulders instead, resting my forehead on his chest for a moment. He drops his head to press a quick kiss against my hair. There is no way I can risk letting him in my mind now. Not after having actually properly thought that through.

When I turn my head back out to the plains, the outline that had been far off in the distance has gotten close to us, it looks like a group of wagons, but with the sun so bright it's still hard to tell. One lone figure has left the group and is coming towards us on their own.

"Sir, permission to engage approaching hostile?"

"How do we know it's hostile?" Jenny asks disapprovingly.

As the figure comes closer, I can see that it's a person on a horse cantering towards us. They slow down once they are a hundred or so feet away, approaching us warily.

Strax postures aggressively and Vastra steps in front of Jenny again.

"Hello, are you okay?" A female voice calls out, one that definitely isn't from anywhere in Britain.

"Um, we're a bit lost actually." The Doctor answers.

She continues to walk closer, and Strax leaps out in front of us.

"Human male, do not come any closer or you will be obliterated!"

"That's a _girl_ Strax." Jenny hisses impatiently at him.

"It's not the first time someone has made that mistake while I am covered up in all this." The girl says with a laugh.

She has a Stetson on her head and a soft looking scarf pulled up around her neck. Most of her frame is hidden by a long, faded grey coat. She swings gracefully down from her saddle, which looks like the kind you always see cowboys riding in.

"Can I help?" She asks, a little hesitant.

Everyone turns to the Doctor, unsure of what to say.

"We… we were heading somewhere when we were attacked, some of us got… hurt. We really need to find someplace to try and recover while we sort out something to do next."

She nods at him.

"Well that's a lot of 'somes.' I can get you out of here at least. Who attacked you, and who are you for that matter?"

The Doctor reaches into his pocket, pulling out the psychic paper.

"How's this?"

The girl eyes up the paper for a few seconds, tilting her head a bit.

"That's blank." She says simply.

All of us gawk at her, somewhat astounded.

"You _quite_ sure bout that miss?" Jenny asks her.

"Well it is now, when he first got it out there were some swirls on it, but it's just plain white paper now." She says quickly, suddenly looking shy.

"We really are lost and we really do need help." The Doctor tells her earnestly.

She looks at the TARDIS for a minute.

"Did you crash land?" She asks.

"No… sort of… We didn't really crash but we didn't end up where we meant to either."

"Okay. Why didn't you just tell me that, instead of trying whatever the trick with that bit of paper is?"

"I didn't know if you would help us or not." He admits.

"Why wouldn't I?"

_No idea. Never met you__…_

I shake my head and manage to focus my thoughts again before the Doctor notices I was temporarily gone. Luckily he's pretty intent on this young girl, well I say young, older than Angie by several years but still a bit younger than me. The Doctor and Vastra finish saying something to her I missed, before she points to the TARDIS.

"Guessing you want to take the ship with you though?"

"Yes… Where are we exactly?" The Doctor asks her.

"Several miles out from Bordure, you're just above the 49th Parallel."

"Lovely. I didn't catch you name?"

"You didn't catch it because I haven't given it. You still haven't told me who you are either. And I asked first." She retorts a bit tersely.

Jenny interrupts before the Doctor has time to reply.

"I'm Jenny Flint; this is Madam Vastra and this is Strax."

"Clara Oswald." I say to her, smiling, I'm still impressed that the psychic paper didn't work on her.

"I'm the Doctor, if anyone else asks its Doctor John Smith."

She tips her hat politely before vaulting back onto her horse.

"Call me Ria. Look, I'm going to recruit some help from the caravan guards, I know you don't really have anywhere else to go, but stay put for now eh?"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much wonderful readers for the reception this has gotten thus far! **


	4. Move 'em on Head' em Up

**A/N: I have to do a little world building in the next couple chapters, I've tried to make it clear and to balance it with story developments, please bear with me! Thank you for the reviews/favourites/follows, they are greatly appreciated! There is a bit of spoiler free info about this story in response to the reviews/messages I have gotten so far on my author profile. Nothing big, just some general responses.  
**

**Health and Safety: Chapter 4 – **_**Move 'em on Head' em Up**_

* * *

Ria gallops back to the scattered wagons, waving her arms when she gets closer, asking for help I suppose. One wagon is brought over to her, and a group of people unload whatever was in it, distributing the content to the other carts. Once it's been emptied, she leads it and about half a dozen men on horses back towards us.

We get some funny looks from them, but under Ria's direction the wagon driver to backs up until he is almost knocking into the TARDIS. That takes some doing, the horses don't seem too keen on getting anywhere near the time machine. Meanwhile, the Doctor rocks back and forth on his feet, looking quite apprehensive of the people milling about his precious ship.

"Stand back!" Ria calls to us.

"How are you going to-"

The Doctor stops mid question as his mouth drops open in horror. Ria and the others have grabbed lassos off of their saddles, and send the ropes sailing towards the TARDIS, all but one snagging over the light on the top of the box. Once they've pulled the loops tight, the riders use their horses to pull the TARDIS down so that she is leaning against the back of the empty wagon before a few of them dismount and push her up so that she's resting in the wagon on her side before covering the whole thing with a tarp. Several of the men start shooting Ria dirty looks, some of them mumbling about this not being part of their jobs, or that they are wasting their time.

Strax and Vastra are helped onto the bench with the driver, and one of the less grumpy looking men offers Jenny a hand up, pulling her to sit sideways behind him, minding her sword and her skirt carefully. That just leaves me and the Doctor.

"We can put you all on wagons once we get back to the caravan." Ria says, before offering me a hand up.

The Doctor shoots her a piercing look. He hasn't let me get much more than an arm's length away from him since we found each other in his time stream, and I haven't really wanted to be any farther away from him than that. Ria looks puzzled by his protectiveness, but then scoots out of the saddle, sitting behind it instead.

"I'll find you a spot together in the wagons." She promises me.

The Doctor looks like he wants to protest, but thinks better of it. The two of them help me up so that I'm sitting side saddle. She puts an arm around me and reaches for the reins. The Doctor hops up with another man. It doesn't take us long to get back to the wagon train, there are probably twenty carts in all, varying in size, most of them heavily loaded down. It's hard to count how many riders there are, they keep buzzing about, checking this and that, grumbling about delays and murmuring calming words to anxious horses.

Ria finds the Doctor and I a spot in the back of one of the wagons, it's a little cramped, we're squished between some crates and the back hatch of the wagon, but we make do. I sort of have to sit on him, but he doesn't seem to mind, shifting so that I end up completely across his lap really before one of his hands starts playing with my hair absent mindedly.

A woman with a _very_ loud voice bellows to get going again, and the caravan starts rolling forward once more. Now that we're moving, the whole wagon is jarred back and forth so frequently by the rough terrain that despite how tired I'm feeling there is no risk of me falling asleep.

"So, we're somewhere in the late 1800's then going by the cowboys out there?" I ask him.

"No, we are about 400 years in the future from your perspective actually."

"Sorry, what?"

"Well, you lot kind of fail the first great energy crisis. Despite how adaptable you can be when you set your minds to it, you're also very resistant to change. You don't get the message till the end is nigh that you're not treating the planet right when it comes to energy sources, fossil fuels and such. Not to mention the petrol ends up pretty much running out. But, as I said, you're adaptable, and you do get there in the end. Things have to get a bit simpler for a while, back to horses and oxen instead of hover cars, more leather and wool instead of polyfibers, glass instead of plastics. The cities get back to full power first of course, especially the smart ones. You should see Tokyo or Stockholm right now…"

A rather large bump knocks us both sideways, momentarily halting his speech. The older man driving the wagon calls back an apology to us.

"The outlying areas are way behind the curve though, not as many resources at their disposal or support from the powers that be. So, most of the little towns and even some of the smaller cities out here wouldn't look out of place in a Clint Eastwood movie right now if you ignore the solar panels and fancy do-dads that make it out from the urban areas."

After listening to the Doctor, I take a closer look at the people around us. They are dressed in clothing that at first glance would be Wild West, but on a closer inspection they definitely aren't the same. Some of the materials are obviously new, and the cuts are different too, reflecting a very different style, more tailored designs and flashy ornamentation. A lot of women are either riding as guards or driving the wagons, which I don't think would have been the case in the nineteenth century either.

There's also an assortment of technology, most of them have metal bands on their wrists that they talk into, or press buttons on, some kind of phone or communicator maybe? A rider near the front of the column keeps pulling out sophisticated looking binoculars, scanning the terrain. He was probably the person that spotted us. One driver's head is bobbing up and down, it looks like she has headphones on, and another has a radio sitting next to him whining what sounds like a country song. It is all a blend of old and new.

Ria approaches us, her horse falling into step with the wagon.

"How are you doing?" She asks kindly.

"It's been a bit of a rough day…" I answer honestly.

"Sorry… I know it's not the most comfortable ride, but these were meant for cargo, not people, barely any shocks in them except for right up front under the driver."

"Where are you heading?" The Doctor asks.

"This lot is on their way to Estevan eventually. I'm an Outrider on contract with Devedas Freight, escorting them to Bordure so they can clear customs before they head into the city."

"Outrider?" I ask.

"Yeah, like in the old days when to dock a ship in some ports you had to have a local guide you in. Government regulation says that someone who is Joint Marshal certified must lead any and all energy related technology being transported from point A to point B. It's too valuable to risk losing."

I try to get a better look at her face, but the sun is right in my eyes, making me squint. She takes off her hat and tosses it into the back of the wagon.

"Try that."

"Stetsons are _very_ cool." The Doctor tells her seriously as I put it on my head.

The brim keeps the sun out of my eyes, and my first good look at the girl is of her beaming at the Doctor's comment. She has long dark hair tied back into a braid; considering how much time she must spend out in the sun I would expect her to be a lot more tanned than she is, though she does have a lot of freckles on her face.

She catches me studying her and smiles nervously before turning away.

"Subira, hurry it up back there, we're enough late already!" She calls somewhere behind us as she trots off again.

The wagons trundle along slowly. The view doesn't change much except for the occasional tree creeping into sight, then slowly being left behind again. Tumbleweeds are really exciting to the guards, sounds like a few people have made bets on how many they will see on the trip, and judging by the cursing that arose from one man at the last one that rolled by, he just lost. Betting on tumbleweeds really shows just how interesting the landscape is…

"Clara, you should sleep if you can." The Doctor says eventually, like he had been contemplating it for a long time.

"No, I'm fine Doctor, and besides, I don't think I could even if I wanted to." We conveniently hit a rather large bump again just as I say that, emphasizing my point.

"If… if you're worried about it, I can keep you from dreaming or remembering, or whatever is going on, I think… _if_ you let me." He says hesitantly, putting his hands back on the sides of my head.

"No, Doctor, please stop." Being curled up in his lap I can't duck away.

His touch is light on my face, and I can feel him trying to ease my thoughts, but instead of letting him, like I think he was expecting, I resist, throwing up imaginary walls to stop him.

That same snapping noise from all the times before rattles across the plain, even louder than it had been in the TARDIS. It spooks several of the horses around us; one person nearly comes flying off. Great…

Two angry looking men storm up to us seconds later.

"What the hell just happened here?" One demands. The other flips back his coat to reveal a holstered gun.

The weapon that the one man is threatening to reach for was definitely modeled after an old colt pistol, there are some noticeable differences in the design though and I would guess it fires a lot more than half a dozen shots, shots that probably aren't made of lead…

"Nothing, it was just an accident with one of my tools." The Doctor bluffs, pulling out the sonic screwdriver to show them.

They exchange a look and one of them reaches for a device behind his back and waves it at us. I think the Doctor was expecting it to be another gun because he suddenly clutches me close and levels the sonic at him with a look of rage, resulting in a _very_ tense moment with the other man gripping the handle his pistol tightly, ready to draw it if anyone makes a sudden move.

"Leave it Hank." The one scanning us finally says after his device dings a few times.

The man, Hank, lets his coat fall back over his holster and gives us an irate look before following his friend.

"What actually happened? " I ask quietly once they're a safe distance away.

The Doctor shakes his head, giving me a look that means he will tell me later.

Ria is suddenly alongside us again, eyes wide and looking upset.

"I'm _so_ sorry about those two…"

"Not your fault." The Doctor tells her.

"No, but I still feel bad about it. Anyways…"

The same strong voiced woman calls out for everyone to stop and circle up. The wagon makes a left hand turn before jerking to a halt, and Ria gestures ahead of us. There is a little town spread out in front of us. Well, town might be an overstatement; there are a few clusters of buildings around a central road ahead of us. I guess I never saw them coming because they were right in front of us.

"Welcome to Bordure. Population… well, frankly that depends on how many caravans are in town and how cheap the drinks are at Betman's Saloon on a given night..."


	5. Law and Order

**Health and Safety: Chapter 5 – **_**Law and Order **_

* * *

The wagons circle up into a group, and Ria heads off towards the town, promising she will be back soon.

"Gotta go get _Law and Order_ to give us their good graces and allow this lot passage." She offers in explanation before riding off.

Vastra, Jenny and Strax wander towards us as we wait. Most of the other people have pulled out cards or are settling in for a nap.

"I must say Doctor, I do enjoy having no need for my veil." Vastra says, as she reaches for Jenny's hand.

"It's nice to do that too isn't it Madam?" The chambermaid asks, flushing slightly and looking thrilled.

The older man who was driving our wagon turns to us.

"Just cause we are out in the woods, pardon the term cause their ain't much by way of woods here, but just cause we're out in the middle of nowhere don't mean we can't be civilized like. We don't see off worlders often, but it does happen now and again, we don't mind a t'all."

Vastra smiles thinly, obviously restraining herself from correcting him that she was in fact from earth. After the kind of day we've had I think she's right not to push our luck right now.

The man hops out of the driver's seat, offering Strax a flask.

"In fact, there's gonna be a big off worlder landing in Estevan sometime next week, some energy magnate from somewhere important like. I won't get to see it, but everyone in Bordure is buzzing about either that or the gala that Troves is planning." He grins.

"Name's Icabod by the way, Icabod Irving, please call me Bod. If you're stayin' for a bit you must come to that, the gala I mean. I doubt it'll go as planned but it'll probably be more fun that way."

He pulls out a few blankets from under the wagon's front seat, and throws them out on the ground.

"Ria might be a while, if she's lucky those two will just be hard to find, if she's not lucky, which she usually ain't, she'll have to stop 'em from killing each other before dragging them back out here by their ears. The girl has a knack for managing those two, even if she says otherwise."

"Which two?" I ask curiously, as the Doctor moves to help me get down from the wagon. It's a real relief after being crammed in there all afternoon.

"Walt and Mr. Troves, the Joint Marshals of Bordure and county. They don't get on so well, kind of like chalk and cheese really, both useful on their own, but not much good if you put'tem together."

Bod goes to take a swig from the flask he had offered Strax, only to find it returned empty.

"I'll be right back; don't want to have a dry wait." He says with a mischievous grin before getting up and walking away. Rules about drunk driving have apparently not made it into the future…

"So we are not _about_ 400 years ahead of 2013, we are 398 years ahead, its 2411, the height of the age of joint governance." The Doctor informs us, looking quite chuffed with himself.

"What's joint governance?" I ask.

Some people have lit a camp fire not far away; they must really think we are here for a while.

"It was a response to the failure of governments to address the original energy crisis. Basically you have two people doing one job, well not exactly, more like they are partners actually. They both have titles and responsibilities that compliment and contrast each other, like a check and balance. Ideally the two people challenge the other's notions, but ultimately compromise and work together, however-"

"However sometimes ya get two people with very different ideas and they don't trust or respect t'other's opinions. You end up with a stalemate and nothin' ever gets done." Bod finishes for him as he sits down with us again.

The sun starts to dip under the plains, and we are still waiting. Bod chats happily with the Paternoster residents. Despite myself, I start nodding off a bit. I don't want to sleep, I can't sleep, but it's been a long day, possibly more than a day...

Luckily a curly haired woman breaks out something that sounds vaguely like a fiddle, but has a bit of an electric twang to it as well. Having never heard what that instrument is supposed to sound like I shouldn't be making judgments, but I don't think she has a very good ear for it. Oh well, it's enough noise to keep me from sleeping.

"Oh, here comes their highness' now!" A voice calls out. Several people laugh at that, and start to rouse sleeping friends.

There are three people on horseback leaving the town, two men along with Ria. The three of them dismount when they are just outside of the wagons.

The one on her left his quite tall, walking with a bit of a swagger. He has shorter blond hair and stubble on his slightly rough although not unattractive face. His clothing is well kept if a bit worn, plaid shirt with a spotless vest over it, a well oiled gun belt and long leather riding chaps.

The one on the right is almost marching towards us, quite upright. His face is very clean shaven, contrasting his hair which is longer and pretty curly. His attire is immaculate; it reminds me of a picture of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police I saw on a postcard once.

The straight backed one ties his horse to a post and then clears his throat.

"Attention, would all non-essential personal please present themselves to either myself or my associate to confirm that they have the proper documentation, and then leave the premises while we conduct our inspection of the cargo." He announces.

"Yeah, and get a move on, I was busy beating Betman at poker." The other man adds, bringing a chain of sniggers from several people and a glare from his partner.

Strax inches over so he is speaking right in the Doctor's ear.

"Sir, I do not like either of these human males. The one appears to wish to neglect his duties for _poke-her_, and the other considers himself to be far too important. What are your orders?"

"Well…" The Doctor says as he dusts himself off and stand up, quickly offering me his hand to do the same.

"I think we are non-essential personal here, considering that we aren't even personal to start with. So I guess we best present our documentation."

He pulls out the psychic paper again.

"You _sure_ that is still working?" I ask him.

"Tell me what you see Bod?" He asks, presenting it to the older man.

"Gadzuks, sorry Mister, I was outta line before about the joint system… I mean ya know I just..."

He looks terrified but the Doctor just shakes his head.

"Not to worry, we appreciate honest feedback, and although this is strictly off the record I must say I do agree with you most of the time, it's a nice idea but it doesn't always work."

The Doctor puts an arm around my waist and steers our little gang towards the two men. They are both checking papers while Ria stands somewhat uneasily behind them, patting her horse.

When we get to the front of the line, the Doctor shows the paper to the rougher of the two of them, who gives him a once over after reading it, like he is sizing him up and finding him wanting.

"_Health_ _and_ _Safety_? We didn't get any notice bout a couple of Joint Marshals coming out here." He says, prodding the other man in the back sharply to get his attention.

"No, I must agree with my partner, we did not. My name is Daniel, Daniel Troves, Law under the Joint Marshal system, assigned to oversee Canadian and American trade passing through Bordure as well as the maintenance of the justice system. This is my partner, Walter MacEwan, Order under the Joint Marshal system."

"If you're referring to me, call me Walt." The other man grunts.

"I am Doctor John Smith, and this is my partner Clara Oswald. We are Joint Marshals Health and Safety respectively, these are our associates, who are expert investigators and will be assisting us in our highly classified assignment. We didn't mean to be here. Bit of an accident. We are heading to Estevan, but my partner is feeling unwell after a bit of a mishap. Ria was kind enough to take us with her, we hoped to rest here for a few days."

"That was kind of Ms. London indeed." Daniel replies.

"Don't call me that Dan." She says, looking annoyed.

"They were lost, they showed me their paperwork and I figured you wouldn't mind them staying here till they were back on their feet."

She points to the wagon that the TARDIS is hidden in.

"That wagon there contains instruments meant for their assignment in Estevan. If they meet your satisfaction for paperwork I'll take them into Bordure myself. I'm sure Mrs. Shun will put them up for a day or two." She says quickly.

"It's fine by me." Walt says, now glaring at Strax who is returning the look.

Ria pushes past the two of them, moving towards the hidden TARDIS.

"Any of you know how to drive?" She asks.

"Human female, please do not insult me, of course I can handle a _horse and cart_." Strax tells her indignantly. He climbs up onto the bench and Jenny and Vastra squish in next to him.

Ria looks at the Doctor, then to me. I hadn't even noticed that he still had an arm draped around my waist protectively.

"Up you get then, I'll lead you." She says.

"Making our rescuer walk isn't exactly chivalrous Doctor." I tell him, a little disappointed.

"It's not far." She shrugs.

The Doctor lifts me up into the awkward side saddle position, before swinging himself up and wrapping his arms around me.

Strax gets the wagon going towards the town, or glorified cluster of buildings, and we follow behind him. The horse's gait is a lot smoother than the rocking of the wagon, and I find myself being lulled again as we walk…

_Her split lip was stinging even though the blood had stopped trickling from it some time ago. Her whole body ached after having been tied in the chair for hours. Time Agent Osara Capulet had done a lot of things for the agency, things that she questioned the honour and the necessity of, but she had reached her limit. The young man codenamed "the Face of Boe" had done nothing to deserve the agency stealing ten years of his life away from him, losing that much would probably kill him. She hadn't managed to completely save him from her partner, but losing two years was better than ten, she had prevented the worst of it. Of course the Time Agency decided that her actions meant she'd turned rouge and hauled her in for questioning, assuming someone had put her up to the act of gallantry, not believing that she simply had a conscious. The door opened to reveal the hardened face of her inquisitor, and she braced herself for the pain that was sure to follow. The man stalked closer, and raised his hand..._

A now all too familiar snap wakes me up. I panic and throw my arms out because it feels like I'm falling.

I hear Ria's horse snort and feel a bit of a jolt beneath me, before Ria's concerned voice fills the air.

"Easy Ardist, steady girl!"

I'm slumped over the horse's neck, clinging to the saddle horn, but the Doctor is no longer behind me. He's in a heap on the ground, looking up and appearing rather perplexed by his current position, Ria kneels down next to him, asking if he is okay.

Oh dear, did I actually knock him off the horse..?

Once his confusion wears off Ria helps him to his feet. His gaze turns to me, looking upset.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to push you off." I say quickly before I try to sit up again.

"I don't care about falling Clara, but _why_ do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

He looks around anxiously; the rest of the gang is watching at us.

"We'd better save that for when we get into town. My boss will already be worried about me; we got in later than expected, and not just because we stopped for you." Ria suggests.

She pulls the reins over her horse's head and climbs up behind me.

"I'll take over Doctor, can't have you coming off again. Wouldn't look so good if we got into town and I had to explain to Troves that _Safety_ knocked _Health_ off of my horse and he broke his arm or something now would it?" She tries to joke as she steers us away from a grumbling Doctor.


	6. A Room with a View

**A/N: I wasn't going to post this until later because my lead on edited chapters is running out. Chapter 9 is being a real pain so hopefully I get it sorted soon. The world needs a little more Whouffle right now though, or at least I do. It's not much, but oh well. Happy reading, please let me know what you think so far wonderful readers! The world is mostly set up; we are off to the races now.**

**Health and Safety: Chapter 6 – **_**Room with a View**_

* * *

There are well worn wheel ruts carved into the main and only proper road of the little town. Hitching posts have been planted in front of the buildings, which include all of the staples for a western town. There's a general store, what looks like a post office, an official looking place with some barred windows I am guessing is the jail and of course a saloon, which we pass just in time to see someone get tossed out of by a burly bald man. All of the buildings have brightly lit signs though, which I am guessing are powered by the solar panels that seem to cover every available roof top, either that or by the windmills just outside of town.

Ria turns us down a narrow side street, and halts out front of a stable door.

"We can leave your box in here and no one will bother it. This is Mrs. Shun's personal livery, people know better than to snoop." She says.

Although the Doctor hovers anxiously behind me, I manage to slide out of the saddle and land on my feet without any help, but I lean into him a bit anyways, it's comforting... Strax and Jenny help Ria park the wagon and tend to the horses, putting them away into stalls.

"There you are! I've been worried sick; you should have been gotten in _hours_ ago!" A matronly voice with an accent that belongs somewhere in Liverpool suddenly exclaims behind us.

A smartly dressed woman storms into the stable, dark eyes blazing as she points her fingers accusingly at Ria, who blanches.

"We heard about an attack on a small group further up the road so we took a bit of a detour. Someone got kidnapped apparently. I didn't want any trouble if I could avoid it." She explains quickly.

The woman huffs a bit.

"And I had to stop to give these fine people a hand." She says, pointing to us.

The Doctor introduces everyone and shows her the physic paper, explaining our situation, or at least the situation we have made up.

"Well you aren't local are you? Hikaru Shun, please call me Hikaru, even though everyone insists on calling me _Mrs. Shun_, which is preposterous considering there has never been nor will there be a _Mr. Shun_. I wouldn't have time to keep one. You can stay with us for a bit of course. I've got some vacant rooms, always do."

She turns to Ria, who was putting feed out for her horse.

"Caravan from Estevan bound for Smallus didn't end up coming in today, apparently there was some ruckus in the city and they didn't want to risk it, it's been postponed indefinitely." She says shaking her hands in the air in disapproval.

"So I'm going to be here for a few days?" Ria asks, looking downcast.

"Yes love, until I can find something else for you. I promise to get you out of here for next week though." She tells her, winking. It seems to me like a promise she doesn't mean to keep.

My eyes start bobbing on me a bit, and the Doctor wraps an arm around me while Hikaru gives me a kind look.

"You don't look so good love, let me take you inside. Ria, show the others to the rooms by Carlos will you? Speaking of which, _Carlos_! Get down here and help! Take these draft horses back to the company barn!"

A teen's head pops out from the loft.

"Sorry Misses, fell asleep misses!"

Hikaru scoffs at him as she leads the Doctor and I out of the stable and into the side door of a rather grand looking if worn down building. I'd wondered what it was when we came in. It didn't have any sign or marker on it.

"Bought this place cheap when the hotel went out of business. I'm a District Coordinator for Devedas Freight, which means I need to oversee a lot of comings and goings. It only made sense to have a place to put everyone in." Hikaru explains as she leads us up several flights of stairs before stopping in front of a red painted door in the corner of the building's top floor.

"I'll bring you up a proper spot of tea, the kettle just boiled." She calls over her shoulder as she disappears back down the stairs.

The Doctor opens the door to reveal a small but tidy bedroom. One large bed in a corner, a tiny writing desk, a wardrobe and some drawers, there's a pretty water colour on the wall, but the frame is a bit chipped. I walk over to the open window, and am treated to a nice view of the little town right over the main road.

Hikaru bustles in behind us moments later, carrying a tray with beautiful china tea cups.

"They live a bit _rough_ here, and I'm not talking about the leather. If you know what is good for you, do _not_ ask that fool Betman for tea if you have any business with him. He doesn't know earl grey from prairie grass." She says darkly.

"What do you expect from the colonies ey?" Ria's voice asks, trying for a posh British accent of some kind. She is standing shyly in the door, holding a suitcase.

"Jenny said you might want this Clara, not sure where she got it from."

"Trade you." I smile at her, offering her hat back, which she takes happily.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep Mrs. Shun. The ride in wasn't so bad, but Walt and Daniel were at each other's throats, _again_…" They both shake their heads.

"Night Ria." The Doctor says thoughtfully. She waves and retreats back out the door.

The Doctor takes a few more sips of tea before turning to Hikaru.

"So what's her story?" He asks, sounding a little worried but also genuinely curious.

"It's not mine to tell." Hikaru replies, sounding protective.

"A young girl with a mind like hers working as an Outrider in the middle of nowhere? That is a story I would very much like to hear." The Doctor continues, unfazed by the defensiveness.

Hikaru sighs, before downing her tea in a gulp.

"It isn't a happy one, not yet at least." She says before hastily bidding us goodnight and taking the tray downstairs. That was an abrupt end to the impromptu tea party. I wasn't even half done my cup yet…

The Doctor stands up and walks over to the window, staring blankly outside.

"When you said 'a mind like that' you were meaning that she somehow couldn't see the psychic paper right?"

"No, it's not that she couldn't see it, it's that she could see _past_ it, totally blank it out. That isn't completely unheard of, just really _rare_." He tells me as he turns back to look at me.

"She said she saw swirls on it, did she see Gallifreyan?"

"Must have, my thoughts were probably arranging themselves on the paper."

"It's a beautiful language. I can remember a bit of it, some words here and there, the sound of it, it's almost like music." I say softly.

He opens his mouth a few times to say something, but can't seem to find the right words and so he smiles warmly instead.

A yawn tries to escape my mouth, and I fight with it for a few seconds before losing.

"Clara… You really need to get some rest. You… you should be _dead_ really after what you just went through, not just from the time winds but from the sheer effort of coming out of them, of finding yourself again."

"I had a lot of help." I tell him quietly, almost timidly.

We exchange a look, and I have a feeling that this is where he is going to try to start our inevitable talk about everything that has happened.

"So what is it, that snapping sound that keeps coming up?" I beat him to it, if we have to do this it's going to be on my terms, I hope.

He frowns at me before answering.

"That is you, throwing me out of your mind rather… _forcefully_. It's not a very pleasant feeling."

"Maybe you should take that as a sign to stay out then."

"You keep getting lost in your own head Clara; I just want to help you find your way out again."

He is still standing across the room. After how attached we had been it feels strange. But it somehow fits. I keep pushing his mind away and his body has followed for now.

"Once you are in my head though, you can do a lot more in there than just pull me out."

"Why would I do that?" He seems hurt.

I don't have a good answer for that, it's more _me_ I am worried about than him. If I am lost I won't be able to stop him from seeing things once he is in my head. And I have one very important thing to keep from him right now, and it's the answer to a question he probably wants to ask me as well. Why did I jump into his time stream? Oh yeah, because I _love_ him…

"I don't want to forget your name _again_." I lie. Well it isn't actually a lie; it's just not the whole truth. I really don't want to forget that. Knowing that about him, it's so… intimate…

"Clara-"

"You were so _angry_ when I said I had found it the first time. But I wouldn't have 'gone looking for it' again like you sounded worried about. It's not some secret I feel chuffed about knowing Doctor. I don't want to forget it because the name you chose is important, but you need to remember that you are more than just _the Doctor_. You're you; a person who made the choice to be the Doctor. You are unique in the universe, utterly irreplaceable."

He looks shocked by what I just said, and touched.

"My Clara." He says tenderly, walking back over to me again and sitting on the bed.

"There will be no forgetting, I promise." He says, crossing his hearts before pulling me into a side hug.

Suddenly feeling scared and wanting to end this conversation, I look for a way out.

"You know, we seem to have a thing for dusty places today. I must look like a mess, brought in half of the Canadian prairies on my dress." I babble quickly before getting up and opening the suitcase Jenny had sent in. She must have gotten it out of my room in the TARDIS, which is kind of amazing. But then maybe the snog box doesn't give her quite as hard a time about getting around.

"Canadian prairie dust isn't the worst kind by a long shot. Rifthrol dust, that is nasty and a tiny bit alive…" He informs me as he lounges back against the bed's headboard.

I am so focused on what I am doing I forget for a minute that I am changing right in front of him, but remember about three seconds after pulling off my tights and having started to tug my unzipped dress over my head.

I spin around to see him staring at me, his face a brilliant red. I think I match right now.

His eyes stay low, on my legs. I'm not really showing anything _indecent_ yet… just a lot more thigh than usual. Despite the fact that the Doctor is blushing madly, he isn't looking away, why isn't he looking away? And why is the blush fading? Did he just kind of bite his lip? Why am I looking at his lips? Okay I know the answer to that one but someone tell me what is actually happening here?

I finally manage to clear my throat, and his eyes snap up to my face as he practically leaps off of the bed, with a lot more grace than he usually manages.

"I'm going to see if I can find us something to eat and check how the others are doing." He says with a bit of a low tone of voice, looking at me one last time before straightening his bowtie as he flees the room.


	7. The Punch Line

**A/N: Hello readers, sorry this is a bit later coming. My issues editing Chapter 9 have led me to the conclusion that the problem is with the content, not the wording, so I am in for some major rewrites... As such updates will be a bit slow for the next few days (or more) as I try to sort myself out again, I'm sorry about that, but it's hopefully going to be for the best in the long run. Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Health and Safety: Chapter 7 – **_**The Punch Line **_

* * *

When I hear a knock at the door, I assume it's the Doctor returning, even though he hadn't been gone for long. However when I crack the door open, it's the elegant green face of Madam Vastra I am greeted by instead of the Doctor's sheepish red one. Not that it was actually red anymore when he fled…

She looks surprised as well for some reason.

"He has actually given you a moment to yourself?"

"Yeah, he went to get something to eat, and to see how you were settling in." I don't need to mention that I scared him senseless. Well, he was scared but staring… Oh dear… Was he scared? Or was it something else…

"How are you Clara, and I mean how are you _really_?"

"Tired."

She waits for me to say more.

"You told me once that the truth was just one word." I say to her.

My Victorian self is so easy to remember, it isn't disorienting at all. Everything else I remember only comes in tiny bits, a laugh, a smile, a word or a feeling. They are just snippets here and there, except when I dream them, or see them, or whatever we are calling what happens when I'm not conscious.

But Victorian me, it's easy, it's almost _real_. I can remember how ethereal it felt when I was on the cloud, and how it my heart raced when I thought I was climbing a staircase to the heavens. I remember the smell of the tropical plants in the Paternoster home when Vastra gave me the one word test, which at the time I thought was impossible, and still think is a rather cynical idea. Some things just can't be explained in one word, but that doesn't make them any less true. And of course I can remember the feeling of a pair of lips responding quite willingly against mine even as the hands of the body they belonged to flailed awkwardly…

That me got to kiss him without worrying about the consequences, damn her luck…

Vastra gives me a wry smile in return to my comment about truth.

"I just wanted to thank you. Without you Jenny would never have been restored, or Strax. And I would have forgotten myself. I was not in a good place when the Doctor found me. I was so angry, and I was taking it out on people who had done me no wrong. The Doctor _helped_ me, and later, quite by accident gave me my new family and a new home. I cannot ever express how grateful I am for that or how grateful I am to you for saving them."

After such a heartfelt thank you I'm afraid to cheapen it by just saying 'you're welcome.' So instead I slowly walk over to her, and pull her into a hug. She stiffens momentarily but puts an arm around me in return before pulling back.

"I had best get be on my way. Jenny is asleep and I don't want her to wake up and find me gone."

There is another careful rap at the door a few minutes after she leaves.

"It's me." The Doctor says on the other side.

"Come in." I tell him, now fully changed into dust free garments. I have no idea what came over me earlier…

He pushes the door open, carrying some biscuits on a square plate.

"The cook didn't want to give anything up, it took some convincing." He grins.

"Everyone else settled in?" The biscuits taste like they were made several days ago, but I am really hungry all of a sudden so the prospect of any kind of food is pretty appealing. I still have my half finished tea to wash them down with at least.

"Jenny is asleep. Vastra was just heading back into their room when I went to check in but I think she will be off to bed soon too."

He inclines his head towards the bed, and gives me a look that implies sleeping is good and I should be doing that too.

"Strax?"

"Oh… he went to 'investigate' the saloon across the street as soon as everything was sorted in the stable." The Doctor rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"Want some?" I offer him one of the slightly stale biscuits. He eyes it before shrugging and taking it.

"We really need to go to Lake District and get some proper scones after this." He says, making a face.

I laugh, which feels wonderful after everything that has happened. He smiles, and reaches to touch my face. It isn't the desperate grab to keep me in reality, it's just one of his usual little touches that I never mind one bit. But with me so worried about letting him into my head, I don't want his hands anywhere near my face. So unlike usual, I move away. His smile falls from his face immediately.

"Clara, what are you so scared of?" He pleads, dropping the biscuit and scooting closer to me.

Before I can answer, the Doctor jumps to his feet as we hear the sound of footsteps rushing down the hallway. Our door flies open to reveal a very worried looking Ria.

"I'm really sorry to burst in, but _please_ come quickly, Strax has apparently gotten into a… a _disagreement_ of sorts with Vladimir, who is kind of the local tough guy and the bouncer at Betman's Saloon. Someone needs to get one of them to back down before things get ugly and it needs to happen right _now_. I want to keep Walt and Daniel outta this if we can."

The Doctor grabs my hand as we follow Ria out to the main street and down to the Saloon we saw someone get tossed out of earlier. She pushes the half doors open and the scene that we walk into would be laughable if it didn't involve someone we cared about.

There is no hope of cooling this off before it escalates; it looks like it escalated a while ago. Strax is roaring battle cries while wrestling on the floor with a _very_ large, _very_ bald and _very_ angry looking man. A few tables have been flipped over, broken glass is scattered all over the place. The man playing the piano on the landing between the first and second floors hasn't bothered to stop, providing an upbeat soundtrack for the crowd of people who have swarmed over to watch the fight, egging them both on and taunting with jeers.

"Come on Vladimir, knock 'is off wordly socks right off a him!"

"Three bucks says the potato wins!"

"Oh you're on, you already owe me half your next pay, what's another three bucks?"

"Ain't he manly dear?"

"Oy watch who you shove!"

"Who stole my drink eh?"

Ria looks at the Doctor expectantly.

"What am I supposed to do?" He gasps.

"Pull him off of Vladimir, tell him to stop it, step between the two of them or anything else your mind happens to come up with!" She exclaims.

He gives her a look that questions her sanity and takes a step back.

"Doctor, really, Ice Warrior, attack of the super models, parasitic suns, no problem, but angry Russian strong man is your limit?" I prod him.

"They seem to need to sort this out like gentleman…" He reasons, just as a bottle comes flying over our heads, very gentlemanly indeed.

"You shall not defeat me human; prepare to be beaten to a pulp for the glory of the Sontaran Empire!" Strax slurs, brandishing a table leg like a club.

"Lot of good you are." Ria spits at the Doctor before taking off her coat and a belt I hadn't noticed under it and tossing them to me.

The belt has one of the futuristic colt pistols in it, which shocks me a bit. Ria didn't seem like the type to carry a weapon. I don't get to consider that thought farther though because to my horror she is shoving her way through the mob of people and tries to grab the table leg from Strax, yelling at them both to calm down.

No one listens to her at all though; Vladimir actually shoves her out of the way as he dives for Strax. Ria is flung into a woman at the front of the crowd, who grunts at her before pushing her out of the way. Icabod catches her, and starts yelling at the woman about respect. Everything just unravels from there and suddenly the whole crowd begins yelling at one another. I don't know who threw the first punch, but soon enough a full on saloon brawl erupts around us.

I smack the Doctor on the shoulder, which finally brings him to his sense. He whips out his sonic screwdriver, and points it at the piano which is suddenly amplified for a several seconds, terrifying the man playing it.

"Calling for back up, someone will have heard that." He explains before diving into the crowd, pushing his way through till he gets his hands on poor Ria, pulling her out with him.

Figuring that after all of the damage done to the establishment a few more broken glasses won't break the bank, I manage to turn over a table near the door and motion to him for the three of us to duck behind it. He helps Ria sit and then drops down himself, not a second too soon as a bottle comes flying through the space our heads had just been, shattering as it hits the wall, spraying what was left of its content everywhere. A few seconds later there is a dull thud on the other side of the table followed by a groan; someone got thrown into it I guess.

This has just been a fantastic day and that isn't even counting Trenzalore. Thank you TARDIS for bringing us here… I turn to tease the Doctor about his snog box's habit of putting us right into harm's way, but his attention is focused on Ria, whose nose is bleeding pretty badly. She is reluctantly using her scarf to try and staunch the blood.

"I tried, I really did." She laments, peeking over the table at the mob.

"You were brave enough to give it a go, I wasn't." The Doctor comforts her.

"The hell is going on in here?" A voice rings out.

Walt MacEwan is standing angrily in the doorway, can someone actually stand angrily? If they can he _definitely_ is… Daniel Troves saunters in behind him, and notices us sheltering behind the table.

The Doctor silently mouths 'see, I got us some back up' at me.

"Ms. London, what happened here?" Daniel asks us calmly.

"Vladimir decided he and Doctor Smith's associate weren't going to get along." She tells him.

"Who did that to you?" Walt asks angrily, pointing at her face. He seems to do a lot of things angrily.

"I don't know, I tried to get them to stop but that didn't go so well and the rest is a bit of a blur." She looks down at her feet, seemingly ashamed.

Another bottle comes flying across the room, which collides with Walt's hat, knocking it off his head.

He glares at the general direction it came from before throwing himself into the fray.

"Walt that is not a good idea…" Daniel protests before following him reluctantly.

The two lawmen start to pull people apart, taking as well as throwing some punches in the process. They've almost made it to the middle of the fight when Vladimir breaks a bottle off a table, and comes at Walt from behind, raising the broken bottle to hit him over the head with it.

Ria acts quickly, reaching into the holster she had tossed to me and drawing the pistol out of it. The Doctor looks dismayed as she stands and levels it right at Vladimir, but before the Doctor has time to protest she cocks the gun and rapidly fires three shots, which pulse out as jets of light, all of which hit the massive man squarely in the chest and he drops to the floor with a thud.


	8. Getting What You Asked For

**Health and Safety: Chapter 8 – **_**Getting What You Asked For **_

* * *

The Doctor looks almost betrayed, staring at Ria like he is seeing her for the first time again, a darkness and then a sadness coming to his eyes. The room has fallen completely silent; people stop pounding on one another and instead are staring right at us. Well mostly they stare at Ria really, but she is standing in between us, so some of the stray glances end up falling our way.

"This is set to stun, but if anyone else thinks that carrying this on is a good plan, you are welcome to find that out for yourselves." She tries to sound self assured, cocking the gun again and pointing it as menacingly as she can manage, I can't help but notice her hands are quivering slightly. The Doctor's head quirks quickly at her statement and his eyes begin to soften as I watch them trace her arms, finding the same trembling as I had.

She isn't comfortable holding the gun and she isn't used to using it, that much is obvious. Unfortunately the crowd seems to be coming to the same conclusion, going on how they are starting to eye each other up again and crack their knuckles at one another.

Abandoning the cover of the table, I straighten up next to her, crossing my arms and trying to level the mob with an intimidating stare, it's time to be the boss; I am a Joint Marshal as far as this lot knows after all, Joint Marshal Safety reporting for duty...

"You'd best listen to her. Assaulting a Joint Marshal is a punishable offence under the law, and so far _four_ of us have been threatened by this scuffle. That doesn't even begin to cover the property damage caused here." I add, trying to back her up as best I can. I _really_ hope that attacking us is illegal… Him indoors is back to being pretty useless right now. Wait I am not allowed to call him that… Oh dear…

Daniel regains his poise first, smoothing a hand through his auburn curls after dropping the man he had a choke hold on.

"This establishment is closed until further notice. I suggest that you all contemplate your conduct here tonight, and consider yourselves fortunate that we will not be pressing further charges."

"You two, _stay_." Walt snarls threateningly at Strax and Vladimir, even though the big Russian looks like he isn't going to be ready to move anytime soon. Whatever that gun was firing wasn't lethal, but it sure was powerful.

The entire room begins crying out protests to Daniel's declaration, but everyone stagger out, leaving us, Daniel and the shell shocked bartender standing in the disaster area.

"Sorry Larry, we'll talk to Betman later." Daniel tells the trembling man apologetically.

Walt gives Strax a shove towards the door, before trying to tuck his slightly ripped shirt back into his vest properly. He gives up after a moment's fusing however, and instead stoops down to grab Vladimir by the back of the shirt, hauling him up and dragging him towards the exit.

"Doctor Smith, Ms. Clara, you had best come down to the station with us so we can deal with your associate. You too Ria." Daniel says, holding a hand out for the gun she is still clasping.

She passes it to him handle first, looking worried.

We all follow the two roughed up marshals down the street to the building I had noticed earlier with some barred windows. It turns out to be both their office and the town jailhouse.

Walt heaves Vladimir into a chair in front of a tidy desk, which I am assuming is Daniel's. Strax settles into another chair, leaving the rest of us standing, except for Daniel who eases himself into the armchair behind the desk, all the while examining Ria's gun.

"This is broken; there is no way to set it to anything _but_ stun." He finally says, shaking his head.

"Not broken, I had it made that way on purpose." She replies.

"You had it made it to be useless?" Walt barks.

I raise my eyebrow at that comment.

"I wouldn't call it useless, that man is huge and it dropped him pretty quick." I say to him.

Daniel shoots me a reproachful glance but looks at the still mostly out of it Russian before continuing.

"Ms. London, as an Outrider licensed by the Joint Marshals of Bordure on behalf of the Government of Canada in the name of her majesty the Queen, you are _legally_ required to carry an operational firearm." Daniel says very slowly, almost patronizing actually.

"And I am carrying an operational firearm. Open the legislation yourself Dan, Protection of Energy Assets Act, half way through the terms of reference, bottom paragraph, third line. Nowhere in the definition of what an operational firearm is will you find anything about said firearm needing to have a lethal capacity. On page eleven of the act you will also find an exception for people whose religious beliefs do not condone the use of firearms, but I couldn't qualify for that so I had to fall back on the technicality."

He looks at her in disbelief before going to what looks like a tablet on his desk, a few flicks and touches on the screen later, his eyes are flashing over words and he begins to read under his breath. The more he reads, the more his face goes a beet red. When the blush reaches his ears, Walt starts laughing at him, pouring himself a cup of what smells like coffee.

"Beat at your own game Sir. Lawsalot, and she didn't even finish at the academy! Good thing for you, I'd take her as a partner instead any day." He barks.

"Miss London I…" Daniel doesn't seem to know how to finish that statement.

"Please, _stop_ calling me that."

"Well what do I call you then? _Ria_ is ridiculous, and you get even more upset when I call you Victoria."

"Hang on." The Doctor interrupts, finally finding his tongue again and looking at her like he is seeing her for the first time once more, third time today that's happened.

"Your full name is _Victoria London_?"

"Yes…" She confirms somewhat reluctantly.

He suddenly starts grinning and prodding me with his elbow for some reason, which I am sure I'll find out later.

Daniel still looks upset but he hands the gun back to Ria, to Victoria?

"She used it to keep one of us from getting hurt Daniel, that's not something to haul her in here for." Walt informs his partner.

"No, now it's just a matter of what to do with these two…" They turn to Strax and a now mildly conscious Vladimir.

"Sorry sir…" Strax says to the Doctor.

"I would advise you get yourselves out of here first thing in the morning, Betman isn't a man who takes kindly to being crossed, and we can't handle him as well as we would like to, he is too well connected." Daniel tells the Doctor sternly.

"We need to stay at least another day." The Doctor argues.

A device that looks like a cross between a radio and a computer starts to ring on a table near the back of the room, and Daniel moves to answer it.

"A nice night with us ought to sort you out and keep Betman happy-ish." Walt tells Vladimir before frog marching him back to the cells.

"Walt, there is more trouble in Estevan. It's not just random assaults, people are being kidnapped, and a small wagon train was hit just north of here, two people were taken. Ms. London already reported another attack this afternoon, something is not right." Daniel says when he comes back from the machine.

"Estevan isn't out concern; I'll go and look for whatever is out on our turf in the morning."

"Sir, the Madam, Ms. Jenny and I could investigate the happenings in the city, and you could rendezvous with us in a day's time if Ms. Clara needs more rest!" Strax offers excitedly.

"Under whose authority would you be investigating?" Daniel scoffs. This guy is getting on my nerves.

"Under ours, Joint Marshals Health and Safety. They are all highly trained investigators, and we were going to be assigned to a post in Estevan anyways." I tell him, crossing my arms.

"I can take them into the city in the morning if I can borrow a coach; do another run for Doctor Smith and Clara the day after if needed." Ria offers.

"Keeps them out of trouble, gets Betman off our back and might make those pricks down in Estevan Enforcement happy with us. I like it." Walt shrugs.

Daniel scowls, but eventually agrees.

"You, _Health_,Doctor Smith, make sure she's okay." Walt snarls at the Doctor, pointing to the now dried blood below Ria's nose.

We walk out of the office with Strax marching ahead of us, the Doctor watching him like a hawk until he sees him right into the door of his room.

Ria's room is on the top floor, so she keeps climbing the stairs with us. She goes to say goodbye but I reach out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want Walt bearing down on me and we said we would make sure you were okay."

"Just some dried blood, I can clean it up myself." She mutters.

"I wouldn't be living up to my name very well if I let you do that." The Doctor tells her kindly.

That little statement means a lot more after today, possibly yesterday… whenever we went to Trenzalore. Before I might have thought he was trying to have a joke about himself, but he really isn't. It was the name he chose, the _Doctor_. His promise… He could have been anything, the Traveler, the Commander, the Scholar, the _anything_, but he chose the Doctor, the person who makes people better, the person who helps others.

The boy from the stable appears on the landing behind us, hovering and trying to stare at Ria.

"Misses was worried about yous all. She heard there was some commotion at Betman's." Ria turns so he can't see her face and the Doctor puts himself between them.

"Can you please get us some clean water and a cloth?" I ask him.

"Si misses, right away misses." He darts back down the stairs.

Ria opens the door to her room, things are squished into the place, it's much smaller than the one we have which isn't all that large either. There isn't much by way of personal possessions in the room, some clothing hanging in the closet, a few books on a dresser, what looks like a broken saddle leaning against a wall.

"Take a seat Victoria." The Doctor tells her, gesturing for her to sit down in the only uncomfortable looking chair crammed into the room.

"Please don't call me that." She tells him as he kneels in front of her, putting his hand under her chin so he could see her nose better. He doesn't even acknowledge the request; it was less adamant than with Daniel, more a plea than a demand.

"Nothing broken, just a little battered." He pulls out the sonic screwdriver and guides it just above her nose.

"That ought to stop most of the bruising." He says cheerily, before his face sets into a more cautious look.

"Walt said that you were going to an academy of some sort, but that you didn't finish school. Why is that?" The Doctor asks her carefully.

"Because she don't know how to keep her mouth shut." Carlos mocks as he comes in the room with a bowl and cloth as asked. I shoot him a glare, and he turns on his heels and flees the room without saying another word.

"What actually happened?" I ask her, trying to be gentle.

She seems like she wants to try to get away from us, but with the Doctor right in her face she doesn't really have that option right now.

"Well saying I don't know how to keep my mouth shut is one way to put it." She says after a while.

"But there has to be a better way to put it." I say, sitting on the end of her bed.

"I was on a scholarship, and I lost it." She says shortly.

"Lost it, or had it taken?" I nudge on.

"Bit of both…"

We wait for her to elaborate.

"I had a full scholarship to the Yorkton Academy of Law. In my third year there, I had a bit of a difference of opinion with one of my professors. I don't take things at face value, I ask questions. 'Question everything' was what a teacher once told me, and I took it to heart. I questioned the wrong thing with him though, not knowing it was his own research that I kind of… _disproved_... He failed me in his class... My scholarship was reliant on my grades, so I lost it after that happened."

"What brought you out here?" The Doctor asks her.

"My uncle and his husband lived just outside of town; I spent tons of time here as a kid after my parents split up. Dad hated having me around because I reminded him of Mom; Mom was too busy pursuing her career. I loved it out here, I learned to rope and ride, and to navigate the trails around here for miles and miles. Mrs. Shun, Hikaru, she was a good friend of my uncles, she's known me forever. I got myself licensed as an Outrider and asked to work for her. It's a lot better than sitting around feeling sorry for myself." She finishes stubbornly.

The Doctor chuckles.

"Better than moping indeed, _question everything_, brilliant, just fantastic." He says, beaming at her as he rings the blood soaked cloth.

"Are you going to want to go with Vastra and company tomorrow or will you wait?" She asks as she stands up, running a finger gingerly over her nose.

The Doctor turns, examining me closely. A bit too closely, I feel a heat come to my cheeks and turn my attention on the broken saddle in the corner instead of his eyes.

"See how you make out tonight, I'll poke my head in tomorrow morning and you can decide then." Ria says, still focusing on her nose.

I bid her a goodnight before taking my leave of her room with the Doctor in tow.

He tries to close Ria's door softly behind us, but ends slamming it by accident. Several voices call out about 'what in 'tarnation is going on' and to 'keep the racket down for crying out loud because folks be tryin' to sleep.'

The Doctor's chipper mood from when Ria, Victoria? Not sure what to call her now, he has switched to her full name it seems, but I think I'll stick with Ria. It was the name she chose after all. Anyways, the Doctor's chipper mood isn't dimmed by the irritable comments about his clumsiness one bit. It's good to see him like this after his earlier fatigue and concern. He throws an arm around my shoulders, grinning broadly.

"Well, one good thing that comes out of this whole mess is that we know the TARDIS vocal override protocol works a lot better than we first thought when we got here."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, all I had said was 'Victorian London' when she took off. So this whole thing is actually my mistake, I should have given the TARDIS a proper address or at least city name and _then_ an actual date instead of a time period. I was a bit preoccupied at the time. Anyways, she did bring us to _Victoria London_ so not a total failure of the system after all."

"So we can blame this mess on you then?" I ask playfully, swatting his arm.

"Well, if it helps…" He mumbles.

"There must be hundreds, _thousands_ of people on at least a dozen planets with that name though, why this one?"

"Why not? "

I just shrug my shoulders.

"Guess we should mention to Vastra that she and Jenny have been volunteered for an investigation shouldn't we?"

"Probably a good plan yeah, might come as a bit of a shock otherwise. I don't like shocking Vastra; she is scary when she gets mad. Lots of teeth, knows how to use them, and not in the biting that is like kissing but with a winner kind of way either. Well not in my experience at least…"

"Sorry what?"

"Um, nothing…" He says quickly before straightening his bowtie.

We troop down the stairs quietly, trying to not disturb anyone else's rest. Someone else isn't being so considerate though; there is the sudden sound of shattered glass from somewhere downstairs, followed by shouts and a few desperate screams.

"They're playing our song again dear." The Doctor says to me, offering his hand as we run right towards the sounds of trouble brewing below us.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long (by my usual standards) hopefully the fact that it is about 800 more words than a normal chapter has been makes up for it a bit. This includes all that I could salvage out of the original chapter 9 as well as what was going to be chapter 8. I think I've kind of sort of hopefully got the issues sorted with the later chapters, it's still a work in progress to reconcile the now two alternate story lines I have branching from here but I'm giving it my best. Thanks for the reviews and whatnot, I really appreciate every one of them! I'm interested to know how I am managing the OC's in this story, because holy cow there seems to be a lot of them… Hopefully not all of them are just walking plot devices… **


	9. Face the Music

**Health and Safety: Chapter 9 – **_**Face the Music **_

* * *

"You know Doctor; it would be _really_ nice, just once, to go somewhere that you can say 'they're playing our song' and mean an actual piece of music, a proper song, played with _instruments_ instead of the high pitched sounds of panic." I inform him.

"Put that on the list right after proper scones okay? Lake District, and then dancing, sounds good yes?"

It really does sound good to me, fantastic actually. It sounds almost painfully normal and lacking in any kind of complication, which means that it will probably never happen of course. Stranger things have happened though I suppose, saying that stranger things have happened than a normal day is really an excellent summary of life with the Doctor, where the normal becomes abnormal.

The two of us are not the only ones in the building trying to make our way towards the sound of trouble, doors are flying open all around us, with people stumbling out in various states of awareness and dress. Some are just in whatever they went to bed in; others are fully clothed with spurred boots jingling off of the wooden floors as they clap hats onto their heads. The Doctor makes his way through the crowd, easily slipping this way and that between the people, pulling me right along with him.

My heart sinks when we make it down to where the screams came from, because we find ourselves in front of the door to the room Vastra and Jenny were sharing. It's odd though; there are no signs of the door being forced open.

"Joint Marshals, make way!" The Doctor calls, flashing the physic paper about, pushing our way through the tightening swarm of people right outside the room.

After running his hands over the frame of the door and examining the lock closely, I guess making sure it hadn't been forced open somehow, the Doctor pulls the sonic from his jacket and uses it to open the door none too discreetly.

Inside, Vastra is laying in a crumpled heap on the ground, she doesn't seem to be visibly hurt, but when I move to turn her over she isn't responsive either. Seeing that I was taking care of Vastra, the Doctor races around the room, taking in the scene, there are obvious signs of a struggle.

It must have been the window we heard shattering from upstairs, jagged edges are all that remain in the opening, with shards of glass littering the floor and the bed which has been torn apart. The bedside table has been flipped over, right on top of one of the swords Jenny brought from the TARDIS, half drawn from its scabbard.

Hikaru strides into the room while I fumble in an attempt to find Vastra's pulse. Seeing as I don't have a clue what would be a normal heart rate for a Silurian I'm not sure what I would do even if I could find it, but I want to do something to help...

"What is going on here?" Hikaru demands, after seeing the state of the room.

The Doctor settles beside me, gently taking the hand I was using in a vain attempt to find Vastra's pulse. I hadn't noticed it had started shaking a bit… He runs his thumb over the back of my hand a few times as he guides it a couple inches above her wrist before turning his wrist up so I can see the hands of his golden watch.

"Silurians have a slower heart rate than humans do; a standard range is 50 to 80 beats per minute." He says very quietly too me, right in my ear as he rests his head on mine for a brief moment, like he is assuring himself I'm still here.

"Doctor Smith, I asked what is going on here." Hikaru repeats, sounding annoyed at his delay to answer her.

"Please keep everyone outside, and send someone to fetch Walter and Daniel." The Doctor says as he uses his watch free hand to examine Vastra closely with the sonic.

His didn't say it loudly, and he didn't sound angry, but it was a command without coming out like an order, one which Hikaru listens to instantly, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

After taking his readings, the Doctor turns the sonic on the door, and I hear the lock click softly. Once he has confirmed with me that Vastra's pulse was pretty stable, he gives her a few gentles taps on the face with the palm of his hand.

"Come on, wake up..." He pleads.

The moment her eyes fly open, Vastra lunges up, grabbing the Doctor by the throat with one hand and throwing him down to the ground, bearing her teeth and hissing menacingly, demonstrating just how bad of an idea it is to shock her. That would definitely be a bite that is nothing like a kiss.

"It's okay! It's us! Calm down!" He tries to explain in choking gasps, his hands shooting to the arm at his throat as I try to grab her from behind and pull her off of him.

She lets him go as quickly as she grabbed him and shoves me away from her in a dash to the window, crunching the broken glass under her feet.

"It is _not_ okay! _Jenny_, where is Jenny?" She has the sound of tears in her voice, though I can't see her face to tell if they are freely falling.

"Open up." Walt's voice calls from the doorway.

The Doctor nods to me, before going to the window with Vastra, speaking to her soothingly, which is brave of him considering she had him down and out seconds ago. Pulling the door open, the room quickly feels a lot smaller as Hikaru, Walt and Daniel all slide in with Ria behind them. Daniel obviously wasn't thinking he would be heading out anywhere else tonight, his hair is wet and half of his face is covered in shaving cream.

"What the hell has happened now?" Walt demands.

"One of our associates has gone missing." I tell him. Vastra spins around from her spot at the window, eyes narrowed, anger replacing sadness once again.

"She has not gone _missing_, she was _taken_! The two of us were asleep, several hooded figures came in through the window, we tried to fend them off, but I was shot by some kind of light that immobilized me… I was helpless, I could not move... She was taken from me before my very eyes!" Her voice breaks over the last sentence, sounding utterly heartbroken.

"It's a horrible feeling." The Doctor says quietly, looking right at me.

"How did they get in though? Did they climb up the side of the walls? There is nothing outside this window, no balcony or anything." Ria wonders aloud as she sticks her head out the broken window, wary of the broken glass.

"Let's go down and take a look." Daniel suggests, leaving the room and indicating for her to follow him.

"With the amount of time she spends helping you two or keeping you from killing each other, you ought to start paying her as a deputy or something." Hikaru grumbles at Walt.

"I wouldn't have a problem with that." He replies, more happily than usual.

The Doctor has moved back to scan the window, concern evident on his face.

"I want to take a look outside as well." He says softly, almost more to himself than anyone in the room.

"I'll get the masses back to bed, horrible way to end a day after I got such good news." Hikaru mutters as she purses her lips.

"You got the promotion then?" Walt asks as we go to leave the room.

"Yes sir, book me a ticket to Ottawa!" She grins before beginning to shoo the people clustered by the door.

"What about-" Walt starts, but doesn't finish as Hikaru gives him a pointed look.

He seems worried about something, but follows the Doctor and I outside. The street feels freezing cold now that the sun has been gone for hours; it's a stark contrast to how hot it had been when we arrived. Daniel is trying to use his shirt sleeve to clean the shaving cream from his face when we find him.

"There are no tracks, nothing, not a mark on the ground, not a dent in the wall. And with the saloon closed, no one was on the street to see anything either." He sighs.

When I see the Doctor is looking in the air, and not at the ground it reminds me of something he had mentioned offhandedly earlier.

"Doctor, you said that the cities were more high tech; you said something about hover cars, what if someone flew in?" I ask him. He looks back down at me, nodding slightly. He had been thinking something along those lines as well then.

Walt stares at us like we are mad though, before dropping onto his hands and knees, crawling along the ground to look for some kind of trace himself, not trusting his partner's assessment of the situation.

"The only people who can afford that kind of tech are the Government, the energy magnates and the underground marketers, and the later two are hard to tell apart sometimes." He says distractedly.

"Exactly, what would any of them want here?" Daniel chips in.

"To kidnap people it would seem." The Doctor answers firmly.

"You don't actually think someone _flew_ in here to snatch your associate?" Daniel scoffs.

"Explain another way they managed to enter a third floor window without leaving any sign of doing it and I will put it under serious consideration as the method of entry." The Doctor challenges.

"It makes sense Dan. Three attacks in twelve hours over a large distance in outlying areas, and there were similar kidnappings happening in Estevan too, you said so yourself earlier. They must be connected somehow; a whole bunch of random people didn't just up and decide that abduction sounds like a fun pastime on the same day." Ria reasons, still running her hands over the building's wall, like she doesn't want to be right.

Walt and Daniel exchange a glance, seeming to try and find some way to argue.

"This problem is coming from the city, from Estevan; it's the only place close enough where people with this kind of capacity are." The Doctor asserts.

"Doctor, please, we have to go there, I will do anything, we have to find Jenny." Vastra pleads.

"Hikaru promised that I could borrow one of her coach wagons, I will take you there myself in the morning." Ria promises her firmly.

Vastra's usually composed self is nowhere to be found, she seems like she's going to either break down and cry, or lash out again. The Doctor casts a sad glance my way and then looks towards the stable. We could get there right now and we both know it. He doesn't want me back in the TARDIS yet, but he wants to help Vastra. He cares about her, and about Jenny, they're his friends.

"We have a way of getting there tonight." I say for him.

Vastra's eyes light up and she starts nodding.

"Yes, yes of course, I will bring the swords and find Strax, we will leave at once." She says before retreating back into the building.

Walt and Daniel seem at a loss for words about this whole situation.

"I am going to need a local guide for this assignment, someone who knows their way around the city, it looks like we will be doing some proper investigating and my partner doesn't like us getting lost. We need someone who keeps their head in a tight spot and someone who will be willing to ask a lot of questions to help us get to the bottom of this." The Doctor says, almost staring Ria down the whole time. I don't think he understands just how powerful his eyes can be sometimes…

Walt ponders what the Doctor has just said, then follows his eyes to Ria, then looks back to the Doctor.

"You can't take her into the thick of this mess!" He barks.

"Its Victoria's choice, not yours." The Doctor says simply before taking my hand and leading me towards the hidden TARDIS, not looking behind him to see if she follows us or not.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took a bit longer than expected, I have turned into a rather doubting perfectionist when it comes to editing it would seem… Thank you so much to everyone who is reviewing! I am much better at coming up with ideas than actually getting them down coherently, so I really appreciate the feedback and being encouraged to get a move on. And I promise Clara and the Doctor will actually get a bit of time to chat in the next chapter.  
**


	10. Once More Unto the Breach

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****10 - **_**Once More Unto the Breach**_

* * *

The Doctor pushes open the stable door, and climbs up onto the wagon where the TARDIS has been hidden. Vastra and Strax appear almost silently behind us as he pries the tarp off of his moody blue box. We watch him fumble for a few moments with his key, before the doors of the TARDIS fall open, she can't have appreciated that...

"Get in you two; we'll be right behind you." He says, leaping back down to the ground and almost landing on his pretty face in the process, regaining his balance again only at the last possible second.

They clamour up into the box, dropping down through the doors, leaving us alone in the quiet stable, with the only sounds coming from the sleepy horses, whickering softly at us. No matter what we do tonight it seems to disturb someone's sleep.

"Clara, I'm so sorry about this." The Doctor whispers.

"I'm okay." I tell him quickly.

"No you're not." He scoffs.

"Better than I was…"

"Better than you were isn't saying much."

"You're worried about Jenny aren't you?" I say, trying to change the subject. I don't want to go where this conversation is headed, we can't do this now. Strax or Vastra could come back looking for us any moment; I don't even think the door is closed.

"I'm worried about _you_ Clara." He says, full steam ahead and not distracted in the least.

"I'll be fine, just promise to stay out of my head okay? You'll need to use your hands for something else anyways Doctor, flying the TARDIS I mean of course. We don't want to accidentally home in on some bloke named Estevan do we?" I try to tell him playfully, which doesn't work at all, he is still looking at me with those damn _eyes_.

"So you can jump into my time stream to protect me, but I can't shield your mind to protect you?"

"Doctor…" I try to interrupt but he doesn't let me.

"Clara, did you not hear me when I asked you to let me save you? I meant it; let me help you, please! I don't understand why you are so bothered by this. I promise that I won't touch your memories, no forgetting; all I want is to keep you from getting _lost_ in them. What else do you want? What else can I do, what else can I promise? Because I can't say I won't help you, I could never say that."

He is being absolutely relentless, fine, if we are talking about his time stream, I still have questions.

"What did you mean Doctor, that 'he was the one who broke the promise,' I know your name is your promise, but how did you he-_you_ break it?"

He closes his eyes and his mouth thins out into a strained expression.

"Doctor, what happened? You won't call him you, you've separated yourself from him so much I never saw him, but he is still you, I know he is, because whatever it was that happened, he didn't give up. That could have been the end of you, but you chose to keep going Doctor. It doesn't matter if the universe doesn't care, because you do, you always do, even when you try not to. What did it mean, what did you have to do 'for the sake of peace and sanity?'"

His eyes remain shut tight, his mouth a tense line as his hands are clench into fists seemingly of their own accord.

"See, I can get scattered across your whole life, and you still have things in your head you don't want me to know about too." That came out as more of a lament than I meant it to…

His face lights up into a curious expression though, taking in what I said. In seconds, he has gone from painfully withdrawn to curious, weighing what I said as his lips twitch almost into a smirk.

"So that's the problem then? You're worried about me tripping across something in your head? What could be so bad you want to hide it from me Clara?"

Well that was a slip…

He steps closer to me, more cautiously than normal, though normally there wouldn't be any caution at all. He stops right in front of me, not actually touching me, just being close, just looking down at me.

"You do trust me, don't you?"

"Always." I whisper, unable to tell him anything but the raw truth while he is looking at me like that. Is this what Emma meant? When she said he had ice in his heart, did she mean that man? The him that is not the Doctor? Or at least the him that he won't call the Doctor, I'm not convinced he isn't yet.

The Doctor sighs as he pulls me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me.

"What about our guide?" I ask, slightly muffled by the fact that I'm pressed against him. For some reason I had assumed she would be right behind us, on our heels, but it has been a while now and there is still no sign of her.

I can feel him chuckle as he pulls away slightly.

"She is dealing with a motherly Hikaru, a stubborn Daniel who will be trying to prove our theory wrong and a Walt who has a lot more tender feelings for her than his gruff demeanour belays. She'll be delayed, oh, another thirty seconds, give or take." He tells me, looking confident, before holding up his wrist watch so we can see the time pass together.

Once again I'm in awe as the most powerful force in the universe ticks away on suck a small trinket. Though knowing the Doctor, that watch is made of an alloy unique to one mine in the universe or something, so maybe not such a small trinket after all.

The tiny second hand flits away, and twenty-nine ticks later, the door starts to open before a hand slams it shut again. The Doctor chuckles again, quite smugly.

"Walt! Give it up will you?" Ria's frustrated voice sounds from the other side of the door.

"Honey, listen to him." Hikaru cautions.

"For once I agree with my partner Ms. London, what do you even know about these people?" Daniel says slowly, voice dripping with the patronizing tone from earlier.

"I know that even though they are all battered and bruised, they would leave in the middle of the night to save a friend. I know that Doctor Smith is willing to lie through his teeth among other things to keep Clara safe and vice versa. I know that they insisted on helping me even when I tried to shrug them off. And I know I don't want to sit here and be useless until someone finds work for me." Ria replies, and the door moves a little again before snapping shut.

I hear footsteps move away from the doors, taking the four of them out of earshot for a minute or two before the door creaks, only to the halted yet again, though less sharply than the other times.

"Take this, stay in touch, if you need _anything_ go to Estevan Enforcement, and if they don't help they can answer to _me_. Keep yourself safe." Walt begs.

The door opens just enough for Ria to step inside, which she does with some hesitancy. As soon as she shuts the door behind her, the Doctor's face cracks into a grin before he steps away from me, making a sweeping gesture towards the still sideways TARDIS.

"After you Ms. London." He says grandly.

"It's not right way up, and how will we fit? It's tiny; we'll be jammed together..." She is staring at him like she is trying to figure him out, a look I can very much understand. It is odder when I get the same inspection though.

"Trust me, you'll understand once you're in there." I tell her, before I notice that I'm grinning too.

Now I understand why the Doctor loves this moment so much. We are standing here, in the middle of the twenty fifth century, about to forever change how someone sees the world. The limits of reality as most people know it are about to be shattered for her. There is something that is just so… _hopeful_ about that. Not that whatever limits she placed on the universe are wrong, but that she is about to see that there is so much more than that, so much more than she probably would have dared to believe.

When Ria doesn't move from the spot she is planted in, the Doctor climbs back onto his box again, offering me a hand up so I'm sitting at the edge of the open door with him.

"_Geronimo_." I give him a wink before I let myself drop through the doors with him right behind me.

The gravity field rights us immediately. Well it rights _him_ immediately. I end up in a heap on the ground; it would appear that an afternoon in a hot stable hasn't made the TARDIS any less of a cow then.

Almost as soon as we are clear of the doorway, Ria drops down behind us, landing on her feet just like the Doctor. Her eyes spring wide with both confusion and wonder as her mouth hangs open uselessly.

The Doctor grins like a madman and laughs, spinning around which makes his coat tails fly out behind him, forgetting his distress about bringing me in here for the minute.

"All right everyone, time for a plan then. Vastra and Victoria, oh, that has a good ring to it, not too often you get two 'V' words in one sentence. Anyways, you two, wardrobe is three rights a left and a straightaway down that corridor. Twenty fifth century casual city apparel should be on the third floor. Find something nice with a hood; bring stuff back for Clara and Jenny as well for when we find her. Don't want to offend the locals or stick out too much and I've always loved a hood, only handy bit about being a monk I found, now off you pop."

Ria is looking around still, seeming to not have heard a word he said. One of her hands has curled around the railing, like she is afraid of what will happen if she lets go.

"But it's… how is it..? The outside is wood and the inside is metal. In here is almost cold but this box has been baking in the heat for hours. We should be on our sides but we're right ways up-"

"Question everything later, short hops are difficult." I tell her as the Doctor begins flipping switches.

"Come dear." Vastra calls to her; Ria looks at me instead, eyes begging for answers or at least reassurance.

"It's okay, I think she likes you." I tell her, easing her hand off of the rail and giving it a bit of a squeeze.

"Vastra likes me?"

"No, the TARDIS, that's what the ship is called. You landed on your feet and of all the Victoria London's she could have picked, she chose you, so I think you're in her good books."

She leans into me slightly, still looking rather shocked. After a moment she takes a deep breath, straightens herself up and follows the lizard lady down the corridor, her footsteps echoing off of the metal floor.

"Sir, requesting permission to join the camouflage preparations in order to be better equipped for potential combat in enemy territory?"

"Go for it Straxy!"

The Doctor's hands glide over the controls, turning switches I have never seen him use before, and setting one dial very carefully, lowering his ear to it like someone trying to crack the combination of a safe. He lets out a sigh of relief when he hears whatever it is he was listening for.

"Now, off to the big city, I have the TARDIS searching for Jenny, she should be trackable, just not by the usual convention. Time travel always leaves its mark on a person, time energy or rather Artron energy, humans absorb low levels of it, its undetectable to most but not to you eh old girl! Now, Clara, come over here and-"

He doesn't finish whatever he meant to say, instead dropping to his knees before collapsing to the ground.

"Doctor? What's wrong, Doctor!"

His face looks oddly peaceful considering he just passed out. I try to shake him, but my own head is starting to feel really funny… Luckily I was already kneeling next to him, so when my legs give out I don't have far to fall. The last thing I see before my eyes flutter shut is the material of his vest close to my face.


	11. It's All in Your Head

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****11 – **_**It's All in Your Head **_

* * *

_Lara Winwald had never seen such an absurdly dressed man in her life. His suit, if you could call it that, was a medley of colours; it made her eyes hurt... She shook her head and readjusted her bag as she turned the street corner; she would be late for her meeting at the school if she dawdled gawking at strangers, what he chose to wear was up to him. After taking only a few more steps however, she was roughly grabbed from behind and pushed up against a wall, which caused her bag to fly open and her carefully graded papers to spill all over the street. An angry, nasally voice demanded to know if she had seen a rainbow man with curly blond hair. Despite being very afraid, she lied, saying she hadn't seen anyone like that, quickly adding that she surely wouldn't have forgotten such a man. It was only half a lie she supposed, she had seen him of course, but she certainly wouldn't be forgetting him anytime soon..._

When my eyes open, it feels like my face has been slapped, but there is no snapping noise, and I can't feel the Doctor's hands anywhere near me. Lifting my head and blinking a few times to try and clear my eyes, I see that I'm surrounded by a shifting blue fog; the ground beneath me is a sort of watery looking mirror, rippling under me as I move. Off in the distance, the air keeps lighting up with what looks like lightning strikes, and above me is a curtain of what I think are stars.

Hauling myself to my feet, my hand goes to my cheek which is still stinging painfully. Despite the protests by my aching back, I try to turn around, hoping to find my bearings and sort out what on earth, or otherwise, has happened here. I only turn a few degrees though before stopping cold, coming face to face with an agitated looking woman who is seated gracefully in an ornate chair. It's more of a throne really; most of it is made of what looks like gold, engraved with swirling circles that I recognize as Gallifreyan. The seat and arms have velvet pads of a dusky orange material, rich but slightly faded with age.

The woman herself is nowhere near as elegant as the throne though; her black hair is arranged wildly, and her tattered blue dress looks like it belongs in some kind of period piece, but I can't place which one. If her appearance and the chair weren't daunting enough, the look of reproach on her face would make most brave people cower.

"Hello?" I ask cautiously.

"What? No smart comments? Not going to call me a large grazing domestic land mammal? No insinuations about me being a location where people do the kissing and the biting?" She spits at me.

I don't remember hitting my head on the way down, but who knows maybe I did? Her voice sounds familiar, like I have heard it before, but where?

"Sorry, _what_?"

She smirks.

"So his _Impossible_ _Girl_ isn't that clever after all."

That name makes me step away from her. No one except the Doctor, and the Cyberplanner I guess, who kind of was the Doctor… Anyways, I haven't heard anyone else call me that before, especially not with the possessive bit… _His_ Impossible Girl…

The woman stands, opens her mouth, and the TARDIS noise echoes through the mysterious fog.

"How did you..?"

"Now you are just denying the obvious, though you seem to be doing that a lot."

"No... That's not possible..."

It can't be right? This can't actually be the _TARDIS_? If she could get up and walk around the Doctor wouldn't have much use for us humans now would he..?

"You don't know how many times _my_ thief said that about _you_. A man with an infinitely large ship that travels through all of time and space and he gets flustered to the point of further madness by one little human girl. I tried to get him to drop it from the start." She has walked right up to me now, pointing an accusing finger in my face.

Oh this is so not happening, it can't be happening. Now I know where I heard that voice, it was when he called for the vocal override; it was this voice that answered!

"You _are_ the TARDIS."

"Who else would I be?" She asks haughtily.

"But… but… but…"

"You aren't making me think that you are any more clever right now."

"How is this happening?"

"Because you are _outrageously_ impossible!" She yells accusingly at me, huffing before she strides a few feet away, hands on her hips, keeping her back to me.

"You know I'm getting that a lot lately. Care to elaborate on why in this _particular_ case I am impossible?"

She whips around again, hands still on her hips, stomping a foot impatiently.

"You don't listen do you? You brought something back, _again_, this time from my Doctor's time stream. You heard him; time travel leaves a trace, clinging to your fragile casings. You humans never pick up much; it takes ages to build up any substantial amount of Artron energy, you don't last long enough for that. But _you_ went and managed to do this!" She flails her hands around her, like it is maddeningly obvious.

"I don't understand, what did I do? What did I bring back?"

"You brought back over a thousand years worth of time energy, my thief's time energy, built up over centuries of time travel, of breaking wholes in reality; he has time traveled more than anyone else. You crashed through his life, it all happened so quickly the Artron energy didn't even sink into you, it's not background radiation at all, you are positively brimming with it right now even if _you_ can't see it! It's flowing off of you, dusting your every step, flying off you every time you push my thief from your mind! You are a walking power plant right now; a movable conduit of time energy, there is so much coming off of you I can actually speak to you. It's utterly _impossible_."

"Impossible and I seem to be following each other around right now." I utter coolly.

"I know it does, I knew it would, I knew it from the moment you traipsed through my doors, which is why I tried to convince him to turn away, but of course he didn't listen to me."

"You wanted the Doctor to turn me away from the moment you met me because you knew I would save him? Right, that makes a lot of sense."

"It makes perfect sense. When the other you followed him through my doors, shouting about not being sweet on the inside, I knew you at once. I had felt you before, a little niggling sensation I had never understood but had always wondered about. At our end, it was my thief and I of course, I never had any intention of giving him back, there was nowhere for us to be except together. But there was an odd tickle woven into him, something not right. I never understood, and ignored it, because alive is beautiful, but so sad when it is over, I didn't want to think about him being over. When you stepped in though, I knew it was you I had felt, at our ends, somehow resting in eternity with us, a snaking strand of scarlet. Oh, that is what you humans call alliteration isn't it?"

Despite the levity at the end of her rant, this woman, the TARDIS, looks absolutely livid, and I can honestly say that I am rather frightened right now.

"I knew that there was only one way to literally tie another life into his like that, you were going to find your way into his tomb, and you were going to throw yourself into his time stream. I didn't know he would be a fool and jump in after you, but I knew you would be one more stray gone wrong, this time in the worst possible way."

"I did not just _throw_ myself in; I went in to protect him! To save him! There was no other way!"

"You could have just walked away. Gotten back into me, and been taken away from there."

"No I couldn't have! That isn't what we do and you should know that better than anyone. I would never have just _left_ him!"

"Which is why I tried to stop you from being there to do it in the first place! But he would never leave you anymore than you would leave him."

The whole space shifts a bit, causing massive ripples in the water like floor and almost knocking me off of my feet, but leaving her in perfect balance.

"What have you done to us?"

"Just put you all down for a little nap, you all need it, especially you. You won't let him help you deal with the consequences of what you've done, foolish girl. He could just overpower you if he wanted to you know? But as soon as you start pushing him away he lets go, he is afraid of holding his ground, doesn't know what it will do to that fragile mind of yours in its current state. Well, I'm not so delicate about you, I'm keeping your mind right here with me for now, and you don't get any choice about it. You're not getting lost and you're not getting away."

"I'm not letting him in because I'm trying to keep us both safe." I grumble at her.

She laughs harshly, getting right into my face again.

"From what? What are you trying to keep you _both_ safe from? Just say it out loud, I'm in your head, have been since you came in here, there isn't any hiding and there aren't any tricks now _Impossible Girl_."

I swallow thickly, and she looms over me, daring me to say it out loud, taunting me with that name. I want to deny it, but she has already pointed out how futile that would be.

"From the fact that… from the fact that… I love him." The last words come out as a harsh whisper and my eyes drop to my shoes, heart pounding in my chest.

"I jumped into his time stream because I love him, the madman with the box. The most _clever_ and most _ridiculous_ man anyone could ever meet, with the dress sense to match. The alien with two hearts that hold more caring than he will ever admit, so much that it doesn't matter if the universe doesn't care, because _he_ always will. And because he always will, he will always be hurt. We both know that the Doctor's greatest enemy will never be the Daleks, or the Cybermen or the Great Intelligence, or any other creature he is pitted against. It has always been, and will always be himself."

I'm crying now, damn it and she is still staring at me, seemingly without an inch of compassion.

"I didn't expect him to come in after me, honestly I didn't. That breaks all of the rules doesn't it? Because even he has rules, lines he can't cross, but he crossed that one. He won't always be able to do that, eventually my time with him will run out, one way or another, and if I'm not dead it will... I know it probably seems like nothing compared to what he has gone through, but I have lost the person I cared about most in my life before too remember? I don't know how I did it once; a second time… if it was him… it just… But even if that doesn't happen, even if I am the one who promises forever and manages to do it, stay with him, not get separated by war, politics or accidents in time, we both know my forever and his forever are very different things, the slow decay of time on me is something he can't save me from, something he can't come in after me and snatch me away from."

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I meet her glare eye for eye.

"So I am protecting us both from the fact that I _am_ a trap!" I seethe at her, any composure lost.

"You humans are all traps in your own way. But in this case, in fairness to you, you trapped each other. My thief, one run in with the other you and he mans up, all charm, devotion, prancing about trying to make a good impression. I tried to stop it; I hoped two weeks cooped up together under the sea would cool you both off. It's too late to try and pull away girl, neither of you could do it. You are tied together, there is no hiding, and there is no pushing away. You both have to deal with the mess you have made. You're going to hurt my thief eventually, and I hate you for that. But first you will make each other happy."

"How do I do that though? How do I do that when I know he'll be sad later?"

"There needs to be happiness now, because there will be sorrow later."

The ground shakes again, dumping me onto the ground. She looks down at me, her expression softening slightly.

"Remember when the moment comes that if you lose yourself to any of your echoes, it will be that Victorian one. You feel comfortable with that echo don't you? Safe even? You are wrong to, that is the echo you ought to fear the most. She was the most like you of all of them. With any recipe you can change the ingredients slightly and get a similar result, most of your echoes are like that, soufflés made with slightly different ingredients but following the same recipe, similar but not indistinguishable. But that you is almost an identical copy of the original, right down to the name, so if you do lose yourself, it will be because you won't feel the difference. You need him to help you remember, you _need_ to let him in. He is the only one who will know she isn't really you."

She steps towards me, offering a hand and helping me back onto my feet, steadying me as the ground shakes harder.

"He's waking up. You fell on top of him, as always, one of you goes down and the other follows. I won't be able to do this again, I don't know if you could handle it, best not to addle you anymore than you already must be. _Let yourselves be happy_, if you're going to call me a snogbox at least make the name credible. Remember this as well Clara, I don't always take him where he wants to go, but I always take him where he needs to be. Among other places, that includes a certain house every Wednesday."

She smiles sadly as the fog fades away slowly, becoming nothing but blackness, I'm laying on something pleasantly warm instead of standing up, there's something soft between the fingers of my right hand, and a slightly scratchy material under my cheek.

"Clara?" The Doctor asks gently.

"Hmm?" I mutter, running my fingers through whatever I am holding.

"I'm not really sure how we ended up down here, but you may need to let go of my hair if we want to get up and find out…"

* * *

**A/N: Slight confession, this was probably the most difficult thing I have done in my brief career as a fanfiction write, holy cow… So many rewrites, it looks nothing like the original very draft I had about three weeks ago anymore, but I hope that means I managed to fix it so that it worked! Thank you so much for the reviews, I am really enjoying writing this story (despite yelling at my laptop more than once) so it is amazing to know people are having fun reading it too! More to come soon.**


	12. A Two Way Street

**A/N: Wow! Thank you so much for the all the compliments on the last chapter, holy large grazing domestic land mammals… To the guest reviewers, a big thanks since I can't message you to say that to you all personally, you guys are all fantastic and I love hearing from you.**

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****12 – **_**A Two Way Street**_

* * *

Speaking with the TARDIS feels more like a dream than anything, I still don't understand how that just happened, something about me absorbing Artron energy when I went through the time stream? Uhh… Because there wasn't already enough about what happened at Trenzalore that I don't understand...

I also don't know if I should tell the Doctor what happened or not, an edited version at least. This seems like something he ought to know, that he has a 'walking conduit of time energy' with him. But wait, he already said something like that didn't he? When he pulled me out of my mind the first time, outside the dead TARDIS, he said something about me 'brimming' with time energy I think.

His hand slips under my chin, bringing my eyes up to his face, where one of his eyebrows twitches up as a silent reminder that we need to get moving.

"Sorry..." I mumble, letting him go somewhat reluctantly. Using the console for support I manage to get to my feet again, I've had to struggle to my feet a few too many times today. The Doctor staggers up behind me, raking one of his own hands through his hair. He is midway through a loud yawn when Vastra charges into the console room; it's quite a sight to see her in something other than skirts and laces.

"Doctor! _What_ did you do? How long were we under?"

The Doctor stretches, cracking his neck before pulling up the TARDIS monitor.

"It wasn't me, it was the TARDIS. Apparently she thought we were in need of some sleep, and saw to it we got an eight hour nap. She homed in on Jenny while we were out though, we're within a five mile radius of wherever Jenny is, and it's about, oh, half an after we left Bordure." He finishes, shaking his watch a few times.

"Sorry, but how do _eight hours_ fit into _thirty minutes_?" Ria asks, appearing behind Vastra and also looking very different. With her all covering coat and hat replaced by short cut boots, slacks and a tight fitting leather jacket, only Strax could mistake her for a boy now, even if she put the hood up that was sticking out from under the jacket.

"With a time machine." The Doctor declares smugly.

Her hand goes to her face like she is fighting off a headache.

"So wait, did I just gain the difference in lifespan? Does my heart have a finite number of ticks? Or do we just die on an anointed day and how we get there doesn't matter?"

"I've always thought destiny is a rubbish idea."

"After discovering a blue box that apparently travels through time and space and is bigger on the inside; I'm pretty open to previously rubbish sounding concepts right now." She replies to me weakly, which makes the Doctor laugh.

"She did the thing, the bigger thing, yeah, yeah you know…" He grins, pointing at her with both hands like she can't see him.

Ria passes me a bundle of clothing to put on, which turns out to be a rather awkward adventure since the Doctor is still terrified of letting me out of his sight while we are in the TARDIS.

Under the console, out of sight but not earshot, I start pulling on the trousers she brought me out.

"I didn't do the thing Doctor, the bigger on the inside thing." I call up to him.

"Yeah, you did, you did it while keeping a death grip on your mug, and not spilling your tea, which was quite impressive actually." His voice echoes back.

"The Victorian me though, she didn't." That had been what I meant.

"Did I get the sizes moderately right Clara?" Ria asks.

"Yeah, we're good." I call back up to her, shrugging on a similar jacket to the one she was wearing and making my way back up the curved staircase.

When we step out the TARDIS doors, I'm not sure what to expect, not that I ever really am.

The city that greets me feels old and new all at once. We're parked just off of what looks like a main road in a residential area, under the cover of a row of dense flowering vines growing up a lattice. Some of the buildings around us are made of cement and reddish bricks, while others are constructed of something that looks like a cross of metal and concrete. There are trees lining the both sides of the street, but they don't look real. The trunks of them are jet black, with the branches all in the exact same configuration, sprouting leaves that are an unnaturally brilliant white.

"The leaves acted as air filters when pollution was a big problem, but now they are being slowly switched over to solar generators, just like real leaves except these ones won't be using the energy they catch to help the tree grow, it will be wired back to a power plant somewhere. Most of these are inactive right now though." The Doctor explains to me.

"Doctor, you said we were within three miles of Jenny, did you not?" Vastra asks, her head craning in all directions like she expects to see her wife waiting for us.

"Five miles." Ria corrects her.

"Yes, that was as close as the TARDIS could narrow it down to." The Doctor says apologetically.

"Might I suggest that we split up in order to cover ground in a more efficient manner and increase our chances of finding the girl?"

"There are no _chances_, we will find her!" Vastra growls at her butler.

"It might be an idea to check out what Enforcement has on this. So many disappearances, they'll have had people looking into it. There is a major Enforcement Office just around the block on Water Street, up that way there. That odd paper thing should fool them into helping right? I'm the only one who can't see it..." Ria voice trails off at the end of her suggestion, as she pulls her hood up over her head and looks warily in the opposite direction she pointed.

"You see past it Victoria, which is more impressive than you know, you're in pretty good company on the short list of people I've met that can do that." The Doctor tells her, ignoring the face she makes at him using her full name yet again.

"Okay, Clara and I will pay the local law enforcement a visit and see what we know, or more likely see what we know we don't know. You three, look for Jenny, Walt gave you a wireless communicator before he let you go right Victoria? Call us if you find her and we will come up with a plan to get her out. Otherwise, meet back here in an hour." He says quickly before leading me down the street.

"Doctor, why do you keep calling her _Victoria_ even though she obviously doesn't like it? You didn't miss her asking Daniel to stop calling her that more than once, I know you didn't."

"I'm using her proper name because while the names we chose are important Clara, why we chose them is important too. She picked that name to hide, and she shouldn't have to." He says, staring straight ahead.

"Maybe she thinks she did something that means she doesn't deserve to use her name." I suggest somewhat innocently. He sighs and walks faster down the road, pulling me along by our joined hands.

Digging my heels into the ground, I bring him to a halt.

"Maybe you're hoping if you don't just let her run away from it, she will eventually see that she can _talk_ about whatever bothers her about her name, or about what happened to make her think she can't use it. Maybe you're trying to help her see that she shouldn't have to hide, and that she could turn to the people she trusts to help her through it, because they want to help her, because they… they… _care_ about her a lot and want her to be okay with whatever happened in the past. Because it's hard to see someone you care about hurting."

We both know that I'm not talking about Ria anymore. The TARDIS said nothing of _him _letting _me_ in, which was a rather large oversight in my opinion. I can't take this leap alone.

"Clara…" He sighs as I reach up to push a bit of his hair back from where it has drooped over his ancient eyes. It would be quite easy to get used to being allowed to touch his hair… He doesn't say any more, but his mouth has softened from the grim line it was set into.

"Maybe secrets don't keep us safe, maybe we need to stop running so much, and just remember instead…" I all but whisper to him.

"_We_?" He gives me a knowing smile, eyes flitting up and down my face for any further hints he might glean from it.

I've slipped _again_; this was supposed to be about _him_.

"If they find Jenny, do you really think Vastra will wait for us to come back and help?" I ask, tugging on his arm a little and continuing down the street.

"I think that Strax and Victoria will help her keep her head should that eventuality arise. Vastra is not usually impulsive; she makes a great detective for a reason. I expect with other people there to help ground her, and to point out the consequences of her actions she will make the choice that will give Jenny the best chance she can, even to her own detriment."

I have a feeling that he is talking about Vastra as much as I was just talking about Ria...

Both of us fall silent as we round the corner onto Water Street, meeting an incline. The higher up the hill we get, the fancier the buildings look, with offices and shops starting to be mingled among the houses and apartments.

The strange leaves catch my eye again; these ones are glowing faintly in the night, illuminating the street and emitting a quiet hum. The place is eerily silent otherwise; we haven't seen a single person since we stepped out of the TARDIS.

A building about halfway up the hill stands towering over the others; it must be five or six stories high. The upper levels look like they are made of coloured glass, in the dark it is hard to tell if it is green or blue, there are no lights on inside the building for some reason. This impressive structure turns out to be the Enforcement Office, but something is rather odd here. Not only are all of the lights off, but the front doors have been barred shut, with a sign set over the handles indicating a temporary closure of the office in order to 'more efficiently consolidate resources in key priority areas.'

"What could possibly be of a higher priority than a neighbourhood where people are being abducted?" I ask, a little dumbstruck by the seeming lack of logic.

"Remember the off world landing that Bod told us about? Whoever is coming must be important guests, they wouldn't make the trip otherwise, they're coming here for something big, something that the city can't afford to go wrong. One bad day here and this lot have been pulled up to secure the upper city, leaving everyone down here to fend for themselves." The Doctor scowls.

He brings a hand up to his face, rubbing his prominent chin with a gleam of frustration in his eyes.

The sound of broken sobbing brings us out of our thoughts. An older woman is limping down the street, supporting her weight on a sturdy looking cane. She continues past us, stopping in front of a bulletin board a few feet away from the Enforcement Office entrance, nestled under some of the trees.

She unrolls something she had carried under her arm, and reaches up to post it. The edges of the board are covered in tattered remains of old advertisements, for flats, concerts and shop sales. Right across the middle of it though, are six posters, now seven, that haven't faded or worn at all, in fact they look very new.

Seven faces stare at us from the posters, each one that of a missing person.

"My granddaughter." She explains, recognizing the fact that we are standing here. She was so lost in her sorrow I hadn't been sure if she noticed us or not.

"I left my apartment to chase a cat out of the garden box, I got distracted talking to a neighbour and she was gone when I got back. No trace, just an open window. She'd only just arrived this afternoon. She works for a hauling company, she had just gotten into town, I hadn't seen her in months..."

"She will be found." The Doctor promises.

"By who? This lot?" She flings a hand at the deserted building behind us, giving it a dirty look.

"They got pulled out to help make the city look good. No one will care about us out here till after those _off worlders_ get what they came for and leave."

She shrugs us off and shuffles back down the way she came, not sparing us anymore attention.

Stepping closer to the bulletin board so I can see the photographs on the posters better, it's easy to see that there is a pattern to them.

Firstly, all of the people who have been kidnapped are female, ranging from girls in their early teens to a woman in her late thirties. Secondly, they all have the same dark brown coloured hair. Lastly, the kidnappings have all occurred in the last twelve hours.

"Doctor, take a look at these." He walks over, and stares at the posters, eyes flashing between them quickly.

"Whoever is doing this, they are obviously only going after one profile of person. One that Jenny matches." He mutters quizzically.

"But why?"

"I don't know yet." He admits, shaking his head and sighing loudly.

"The timing is really odd Doctor…"

"I know. Somehow these kidnappings and the landing are connected; I think they are at least. I don't understand _how_ though. What do girls with dark hair have to do with this? Ahhh..."

He wrings his hands and begins pacing in circles around me until his phone starts to vibrate from inside a coat pocket, making us both jump as he snatches it out.

"Yes? Okay, _right_, on our way, hang tight."

We're off at a sprint down the hill before he has the phone back in his pocket, me trailing behind him.

"Doctor, what happened?"

"Explain later, for now just run!"

We skid around the corner, continuing past where we had left the TARDIS, heading into the worn down looking neighbourhood that Ria had looked at with apprehension. The buildings start getting closer together, taller and skinnier, more and more cement looming over our heads and making me feel a little claustrophobic. The Doctor's pace slows abruptly, becoming nothing more than a cautious creeping as his eyes scan ahead of us frantically.

"They should be right here." He whispers, barely audible.

"Why are we being so quiet?"

"Because we're not alone." He murmurs as he ducks under a dense shrub that looks like it hasn't been trimmed in years. I crouch next to him, unsure of why we are hiding but feeling my heart rate pick up. He presses a finger to my lips, which gets my heart going for an altogether different reason… Not far away, I can hear the sound of feet pounding on the pavement.

"Fan out; they've got the girls somewhere down here, find them!" A coarse voice calls out.


	13. Out in the Cold

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****13 –**_**Out in the Cold **_

* * *

The sound of feet pounding on the pavement comes in a rhythmic pace, like a march, so my first, and probably overly optimistic thought is that these people must be Enforcement Officers searching for the missing people. The Doctor's worried look says that these are not friends of any kind though, so much for optimism... He reaches out to pull my hood up over my head, tucking back any stray hairs and starts inching us towards a low brick wall a few feet away from our hiding spot in the overgrown bush.

"Try over here, this ought-" Another voice calls, before it is silenced by a strange noise. Suddenly all around us, shots begin to ricochet off of walls, odd lights streaming in all directions, and people begin crying out in pain and alarm.

"Return fire, we must have the right place!" The coarse voice demands.

Boots scuffle off of the pavement in all directions, probably moving to try and find some cover. Behind our own tiny wall, the Doctor presses us up as close to it as he can physically manage, an odd gleam in his eyes of both terror and slight elation.

"Okay, so, another good news bad news situation." He says somewhat loudly in order to be heard over the din of gunfire and shouting coming from all around us.

"How is any of this _good _news?" I ask shortly as I hear someone cry out in agony.

"_Bad_ news, we are stuck in the middle of some kind of firefight, possibly a turf war of rival gangs. _Good_ news, despite the fact that we are stuck in the middle of a firefight; _we_ are not the main targets for once! We're just sort of mostly innocent bystanders, which does make a nice change right?" He breaks out into a weak bout of laughter that doesn't reach his eyes.

I can't do anything but shake my head at him, I don't know if he is _actually_ so desperate for a bright spot in this day that he _actually_ thinks this is an improvement or if he is just losing it. When a shot explodes just over our heads, I stop caring so much about his mental state and hide my face in the crook of his neck instead, there is nothing we can do right now except stay here and hope that nobody notices us.

"Sir!" Strax interrupts us a few minutes later, suddenly appearing at our sides.

"Sir, this way, with all of the humans distracted over their puny factional conflict, no one is maintaining an appropriate lookout of the back entrance. We are almost certain that Ms. Jenny is being held in the building these humans have foolishly tried to infiltrate with a frontal assault! Madam and the other _girl_ have taken the entryway, and are holding it for us." He rushes out with excitement.

We are right on the edge of the fight, and they do seem pretty intent on shooting each other right now, I doubt they would notice us if we're quick. The Doctor pokes his head over the wall we are hiding behind and looks back at me before we all make a mad dash across the street, almost diving for cover once we are close enough to the other side. Up a small set of stairs built into the side of the warehouse type building, Ria is standing at the outside of a small archway cut into the wall.

"This way." She tells us urgently before disappearing inside a narrow door. Vastra is just inside, sword drawn and looking vicious. The forms of two unconscious men laying a few feet away from her, tied and gagged.

"What makes you think this is it?" I ask.

"With the Doctor, whatever you need to find is always in the hardest place to get to." Vastra replies coolly, dragging both of the men out of obvious sight.

"Which way now Doctor?" Ria asks, shutting the outside door quietly, her pistol in a shaking hand.

There is a ladder leading down into darkness, and a stairwell curving in a spiral leading to an equally dark upstairs.

"Prisoners are most likely to be kept in an underground location, especially if a rescue attempt is considered to be likely." Strax says firmly.

The Doctor nods.

"We get Jenny and the others first."

"_First_? What are we doing second?" I ask in surprise.

"We cross that bridge when we get to it." He mutters dismissively.

Strax and Vastra have already started to climb down the ladder, and after giving the Doctor another look like she doesn't understand him, Ria follows them.

"You're wearing trousers for once." The Doctor says to me cheekily, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Hmm, yes I am, but that doesn't mean your eyes shouldn't stay front solider." I tease him, my own mouth curling into a grin as well.

"My eyes are always front." He echoes himself from a day seemingly impossibly long ago, as his eyes do indeed settle in front of him, squarely on me for a few seconds, before offering me a hand as I step down onto the ladder.

The darkness thins as we descend farther down, dim red lights illuminating the skinny opening around the ladder. It's hard to tell how far we have gotten below the ground, it's getting colder though, and my arms are starting to ache. Despite the TARDIS forcing us to sleep, I still feel exhausted, that nap wasn't exactly a restful one…

Sneaking a glance above me, I see the Doctor's boots settling carefully on each rung, very wary to not step on my hands. I can't help but think about the last time I climbed a ladder with him, a silver ladder leading to the stairway to heaven, or that was what I had thought at the time. But that was a climb up into the light instead of a descent into darkness, a sense of wonder instead of a sense of dread, curiosity spurring me on instead of fear and concern. Although… on both occasions I have been afforded an opportunity for my own eyes… which are _not_ always front.

Eventually we come to the bottom of the ladder; where the narrow opening widens into some kind of antechamber with a large metal door blocking the way further. Luckily it isn't a wooden door though, and it has a normal lock keeping it shut, meaning that the sonic makes quick work of it. Even more luckily, the only guard left on duty is fast asleep; drooling on the table, which makes it easy for Strax to hit him over the head, ensuring his nap lasts a little longer than he had probably planned. Not exactly an elegant solution, but it works and there doesn't seem to be anyone else around right now, they're all probably dealing with the trouble upstairs.

"The other _girl_ and I shall hold this position." Strax tells the Doctor with confidence, shutting the door behind us and hiding to the side of it, motioning for Ria to take the other side.

The rest of us walk father down the red lit tunnel, barely daring to _breathe_ loudly let alone speak. The walls of the tunnel are mostly made of closely packed stones, with thin metal pipes running down the left side, dribbling some kind of foul smelling liquid from cracks in them. I jump when I feel something settle over my shoulders, but relax when I see that it is the Doctor putting his coat over me, I hadn't noticed I was shivering so badly, even though I have a jacket of my own it really is freezing down here…

After a few minutes of walking, the wall on the right side changes from packed stone and cement to metal bars, revealing some kind of cell.

"Jenny?" Vastra whispers, running ahead of us, face pressed as close as she can to the bars, trying to see the back of the cell in the muted light.

"Ma-madam?" A weak voice calls back, broken slightly by chattering teeth.

"Jenny!"

The Doctor takes off to catch up with her, and we find the two of them kneeling on opposite sides of the cell, holding hands through the bars.

"Doctor!" Jenny's face has tear stains down her cheeks, but she is beaming right now.

"See, I told you I had friends coming for us." She calls behind her kindly. A young girl is huddled in the corner with three other woman, all of whom I recognize from the missing posters.

"Hang on, just got to find the door." The Doctor says, running his hands over the bars trying to locate the lock. When his fumbling yields no results, I move to help him, finding something bulky with a keyhole and grabbing his hand to show him where it was.

"Ahha!"

The sonic looks very strange in the red light, the green glow making an odd contrast. As the door creaks open loudly, the trapped women jump to their feet, running to the door and throwing their arms around us both, thanking us incessantly, trembling noticeably, whether from fear or the cold I can't say. _Both_ most likely… Vastra pulls Jenny in to her, forgetting their usual Victorian sense of propriety and kissing her deeply as her arms lock around her.

"Right, time to get out of here I think, no telling how long our distraction outside will last." The Doctor says, taking my hand and the young girl's, leading us all back the way we came.

Strax and Ria are still guarding the door, and pull it open when we get closer.

"Sir, I shall ensure our escape route is clear." Strax says before struggling up the ladder, the rungs were not made for someone that size, I'm impressed he is able to climb it at all.

"Time to cross another bridge." Ria reminds the Doctor.

His face scrunches a bit, as if he hoped she would forget that he had said that.

"Vastra, I need you three to get these people back to the TARDIS, keep them close to it but don't go in. The perception filter should keep you hidden. Use the wireless communicator to contact the Estevan Enforcement, tell them you are the associate of a Joint Marshal and you have rescued some of the kidnapped people. They should take it from there, get these people safe and back to their families."

"And what about us then?" I ask him. He shuffles on his feet, looking up and down.

"I need to take a closer look around here, I have some questions and I want answers, but…"

"But what Doctor?"

"But I don't want to keep you here, but I _can't_ send you away either." He answers in a pained voice.

"As if I would leave you alone to trip around a big, dark warehouse which is full of angry, armed gang members and is also under attack by _other_ angry armed gang members. Sorry Doctor, but your snogbox got us into this mess _together_, and we are staying that way. I'm not going anywhere, no point in telling me it's too dangerous."

His expression shifts into a warm smile, despite my jibe about his time machine.

"Sir, the way is clear!" Strax's voice calls from above us. Vastra ushers Jenny before her, and the other kidnapped victims follow behind her. I give the young girl's hand a squeeze before she starts climbing, trying to comfort her. Even though she is free she still looks terrified, not that I blame her at all, we're not out of here yet.

The Doctor brings up the rear, Ria in between us. The climb up seems to take more time than the descent did, maybe because we are in a hurry to leave, or at least I feel like we should be.

There are still the sounds of a fight coming from outside when we make it back to the ground floor. Strax and Vastra exchange some hand signals, seeming to decide on their plan to escape. They are about to leave, when the young girl clings to me tightly, afraid to let go.

"I've got to help the Doctor, but these are my friends, and they always try very hard to keep me safe, you'll be okay with them, they will get you home, and we will try to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else." I tell her softly, slipping the Doctor's coat off and putting it around her shoulders.

She tugs it close to her as one of the other ladies takes her hand. Vastra nods at the Doctor, before leading the group out the door silently. The Doctor and I are about to head up the stairs, when I notice we aren't alone. Ria hasn't left.

"Doctor, you said 'you _three'_ when you mentioned getting those people out of here." Ria points out.

"Yes I did." He replies with a hint of amusement, like he wondered if she would catch that.

"Is this a test?" She asks tensely.

_Yes.  
What will it do to us?  
Kill us. So, come on then, plan, do I have one?  
Oh I know what your plan was, I knew straight away.  
No, you didn't.  
Course I did.  
Show me!  
Why should I?_

The sensation of falling jerks my mind back to the scene before me, I stumble another step, trying to catch myself before I end up staggering heavily into the Doctor, who gives me a worried look as he quickly wraps an arm around my waist. Ria is standing with her mouth open, arms out like she was ready to catch me if she had to.

"You wanted a 'local' guide right?" She asks him, once they have both decided I am not going to collapse on them.

"Yes I did." He confirms.

"Right then. You're going to need to need me more than they are anyways, this convenient distraction won't last forever, I've got a feeling it's going to be harder to get out when you decide to leave." She says firmly, before leading the way up the stairs.

When I asked the Doctor why the TARDIS would pick this particular Victoria London, he had just said 'why not' and right now, despite the TARDIS and I's differences, I can't think of any particular reason to doubt her call on this one.

* * *

**A/N: So, this took longer than planned, which I am sorry for, and I am further sorry that it will probably be at least a week before I can post another chapter again. My summer internship just ended, and I am in the someone frantic process of trying to pack and sort school stuff before the joy of getting my wisdom teeth removed in two days… Then I actually have to move back to the city my university is in. So I promise I have legitimate reasons for temporarily leaving you, and I also promise that I won't be gone forever. My own overly optimistic idea was that I would finish this before school started, but that won't happen, lots more to go and this adventure through the warehouse is by no means the big conclusion. ;) **

**Anyways, thank you so much dear readers! I am sorry to leave you hanging for a bit. Enjoy what is left of summer, and good luck to everyone heading to school and whatnot! **


	14. In the Eyes of the Beholder

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****14 – **_**In the Eyes of the Beholder **_

* * *

The Doctor motioning for us to stop climbing as we reach the landing of the second floor comes as quite a relief.

_Every_. _Single_. _Step_ that we have taken up the twisting metal staircase has made the whole thing groan audibly, which is not helping my already frayed nerves. Usually our running about involves a lot less stealth and a lot more headlong charges, this has not been a normal trip out in the TARDIS… Even by the standards of traveling with the Doctor, this has _not_ been a typical outing from the moment I awoke from a time trance inducing soporific to find him staggering around the Maitland house in a blindfold.

The wide open space before us looks like some kind of storage room, with large crates piled high against the walls and crammed next to strong looking steel support beams. Nearer to the middle of the room there are vinyl tarps covering oblong rectangular objects. Mindful to make as little noise as possible, I pull up the corner of one of the tarps, revealing an odd looking vehicle.

"Hover car." The Doctor says simply after making a quick scan of it, which confirms our earlier suspicions.

Across the room a ways, Ria has climbed to the top of a stack of crates, and is trying to pry a lid off of one of them while being careful of her balance. The Doctor makes some waves with his hands at her, like he is worried about her falling…

When the lid finally comes free, she lets off a little whistle, apparently impressed with the content.

"Silver plated conductors, usually only Fredonia Freight can get their hands on this kind of thing, these are Energy Marketers alright, high end ones." She calls down to us in a harsh whisper.

"Local jargon for the mob. Energy becomes the new black market commodity. It's strictly regulated by the government, but that just makes it more desirable to trade in. People who can pay for it want the ability to purchase bigger and better things." The Doctor tells me as Ria carefully covers the box again and slides back to the ground.

A door opens farther down the room, sending us all scrambling for cover.

"Just our luck that those hosers would try and make a move for the girls right now, with the boss trying to woo Mister and Misses I'm from _space_ hear me roar." One voice complains, presumably to another person.

"Yeah, well if we got the right girl it don't matter what they do. We'll be set for life and then some." A second voice replies. They don't look around at all, and walk right by us, climbing up the staircase without a care that they are making the whole thing groan and squeak.

The Doctor gives me a face before leading the way towards the door the two people had just come out of, using his body to keep me physically behind him.

When we step through the still open doorway, the feel of the space around us changes immediately, from sparse and spooky warehouse to suave office building. The skinny corridor is lavishly decorated with wall hangings and fancy wooden furniture, if we get caught here there is nowhere to hide, and not a lot of places for us to run... Farther down the hall, the sound of faint voices is echoing from behind a set of oak double doors.

The Doctor points the sonic at the door, flicking it open with a flourish as he reads it.

"This is a sort of gallery over the room below, and there are some shelves that we might be able to hide behind." He tells us.

"_Might_?" I ask, quirking an eyebrow in question.

"Hopefully yes." He replies, easing the doors open carefully. Fortunately these ones seem to be used more often than the ones downstairs, and don't creak at all. The three of us slip inside, to find a sort of study. One grand desk, a few other chairs and a pair of bookshelves as promised, all arranged on a balcony.

"Did you hear that?" The voice of an older man carries from somewhere below us as we edge towards the shelves, tucking ourselves in behind them. It's frustrating that we can't _see_ from our hiding place, but at least we can hear…

"I have heard a lot of rumbling noises coming from all around us. You keep promising that they will stop soon, but… well… We have yet to see any results." Replied a woman's voice that practically purred with disapproval.

"It's nothing but an annoyance, I can assure you, the boys will sort them out soon enough and we can get back to business as usual."

"Now Reginald, we offered your organization the opportunity to make this transaction because we _thought_ you were up to the task. Your resourcefulness impressed us; we assumed that with the added advantage of the technology we have put at your disposal, you would have delivered by now."

"And we've been grateful for your good faith and this opportunity Captain Kelvia, and let's be fair, we have been of _great_ assistance to you thus far."

Another male voice replies, one that has a similar cadence to the woman. "Oh we remember. We now know that whoever this magnificent temporal anomaly is, she cavorts with another rarity, a humanoid alien that has trouble blending in… _fashion_ wise, dressed for quite the wrong period of earth time apparently. That will be most useful."

My head snaps up to the Doctor, who looks oblivious that whoever this is has to have meant him. How many other time traveling aliens are there with bowties and occasionally Victorian worthy frock coats around?

"As soon as the commotion outside is dealt with, we will take you downstairs to the vault for your final confirmation, _and_ to discuss our final payment of course." Reginald states.

"Naturally. I do hope your people handle this situation quickly, I am _most_ eager." The woman coos.

"Did you give anyone else an energy scanner? Or do you really have such _faith_ in us?"

"Oh _Reginald_, we know very well that you have sappers within the other cartels, that man who successfully scanned the target was not of your organization, but he was one of _yours_."

"_Is_ one of mine." Reginald asserts with indignity, there is honour among thieves apparently.

"No, _was_, he was discovered and appropriately dealt with by your competitors, why else would this lot be so ungraciously pounding on your door? We made it abundantly clear that we were willing to shop around for a buyer, _if_ they could beat the Canadian Government's price that is. We are all businessmen here, it makes no matter to us who gets to use our technology, we only desire to be appropriately compensated for it. And you know what price you are trying to match of course, you hacked those records quickly enough. This human girl is the only way you can hope to top that."

"How do you know that we know what the feds offered you?"

"We hacked the hackers of course."

The Doctor grumbles something about wanting to be able to see whoever is talking, and starts to inch away from the bookshelf, but I put a hand on his chest, pushing him back. We can't afford for him to be seen, not dressed as he is, I have a better idea…

Ignoring the fact that I can feel both of his hearts beating from where my hand is still settled firmly on his chest, I reach into the pant pocket where he stowed his mobile phone, not the TARDIS, but his actual mobile _camera_ phone.

I give him a firm look that means 'you stay put,' to which he huffs and puts his hands up in a sort of surrender as a reply. Oh I _am_ the boss…

Daring to peek around the edge of the shelf, I catch a glimpse of the people below us. Lounging in a squishy armchair is an older man dressed in a crisp suit, who looks very anxious about the whole situation, he can't seem to keep his hands still, first tapping them on the arm of the chair, then wringing them together and playing with the edges of his lapels.

Across from him are the people he is talking to, both sitting rigidly upright, wearing the same long uniform just in different colour schemes. Possibly denoting their ranks? He called the woman a captain right? The only way that you could describe their faces would be to call them absolutely beautiful, both of them. They look _almost_ human, except for the sharp angles of their faces, as well the raised markings that curl under their eyes and back around their necks trailing off under slightly pointed ears.

Raising the phone, I snap pictures of them both before retreating to our hiding place, passing the phone back to the Doctor.

"Time to get out of here?" I whisper.

"This room at least." He replies, one hand shuffling through the images, the other absent mindedly finding mine and leading me from the room.

"What are _they_ doing here?" He mumbles, more of a thought that escaped from his mind than an actual question.

"Who is here?" I ask anyways, prompting his thoughts to hopefully leave his brain and come out as an explanation to us.

"They're Etulians. When Bod said someone was coming to deal in energy he wasn't kidding, they are _the_ best in the business anywhere at this time, actually in most times..."

"How so?"

"The sun of their home planet went out, it just _died_, they had no advance warning and about two hours of light before their entire race would have been swallowed by darkness and the cold of open space."

"So they abandoned planet and are now looking for a new home?"

"No, their scientists actually managed to create a makeshift energy wave to hold in the heat and buy them more time, which they used to create a sort synthetic sun in their atmosphere; it takes massive amounts of energy to power but it works, mostly, keeps them alive and in the light. They have gone through at least a dozen models of the sun, trying to find something that will last, they've tried atomic power, saluric fusion, tranjil catalysts, nothing lasts for long, but it buys them enough time to come up with something else. They refuse to give in and leave."

"And you called _us_ stubborn before…"

He raises his faint eyebrows and purses his lips a bit, appearing to revaluate his earlier statement.

"If the Etualians actually traded some of their technology to earth, the whole planet would be up and running in weeks. Powering the needs of several billion people is nothing compared to powering a false sun. But they aren't known for their _generosity_, I don't know what they could possibly want, or how double dealing would serve them at all. What can this seedy lot give them that the government of the second largest country on earth can't?"

"That woman, the Captain, she said that this organization had hacked the government records, that they knew what they had to beat." Ria chips in.

"Yes, and we need to find those records, I want to see what this price is, and hopefully that might show how some human girl is considered to be so valuable to them..."

I'm not sure if he is denying the increasingly obvious, or if he actually hasn't pieced it together. What do we know? That whoever it is that these people want, they are a she, a she with dark hair, who is considered a 'temporal anomaly,' which has to be a fancy word for time traveler I think, and she is known to 'cavort' with an ill-dressed human looking alien...

All of this can only mean that it really is Jenny they want, or that it is _me _that they are after, I think at least… I don't know why they kept grabbing the other women, maybe as a distraction or maybe just because they didn't have enough information…

"If I had a study like that, I would want it near wherever my business records were kept." I suggest, trying to keep my own thoughts from wandering away from me. The Doctor and Ria nod in agreement.

After only a few steps down the hallway, the whole building rocks, knocking us all against the wall as the sound of tearing metal sheets can be heard from far away. The Doctor gulps, and grabs my hand, pressing ahead farther down the corridor. We check a variety of doors, but find only a cellar full of what looks like vintage wine, another smaller study, and a poorly lit room with nothing in it except for a metal chair bolted down to the floor, worn leather belts draping off of it. I don't want to think about what happens in here...

At the last door in the hallway, we come to another balcony, with a set of steps leading down to a large open room like the one we had seen before. This one has smaller crates stacked around it, with several tables covered in tiny parts and metal bits. At the far end of the room is a large metallic box that looks like a hard drive, wired up to a touch screen computer.

"That looks promising!" I say, taking advantage of our still joined hands to pull the Doctor towards the stairs and down to the machine, hauling him along despite his protests as he almost trips over his own feet.

"Hand grabbing is not always your job!" I tell him with a grin as we come to a halt in front of the machine.

"I didn't tell you it was Clara." He replies carefully.

"Yes you did."

"Clara-"

I shush him dismissively; placing both my hands on the flat touch screen of the machine.

Alright, time to work out the best way to sort out the mess of information before me and find what we need so we can get _out_ of here…

* * *

**A/N: Hello all! Hopefully I will be able to post more regularly for the next little bit. Plot business abounds for us right now, hang tight! Thank you everyone who is reading, reviewing and whatnot, it's been a lot of fun to see people's theories as to what is going on and to get the wonderful feedback. Thank you all so much! Songaboutsleep, I can't PM you to thank you properly for the beautiful comments you have left across my stories, so just, wow… thank you! **


	15. No Candle Can Replace It

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****15 – **_**No Candle Can Replace It**_

* * *

The moment I move an index finger to tap the first button though, my whole body is jolted with a surge of electricity, making me stagger backwards and blurring my vision…

_Sora Cowald locked the door of her flat behind her, and checked her watch again to ensure that she had plenty of time to make it to work. A few days ago, a bridge had collapsed under very mysterious circumstances, and the police had cordoned off the entire street for their investigation, forcing Sora to take a rather roundabout way to get to her job. Today though, the police tape was gone. She thought it odd, but decided to continue as normal, until she discovered that the bridge was still a ruin. It had only been a few days, she should have known better… Frustrated, Sora turned around; thankful she had given herself so much extra time. She began worry that she had forgotten something back at her flat, when a yellow car sped down the street beside her, barreling towards the ruined bridge. She dropped her bag without a thought and ran after the car, calling out to the driver; an older man she somehow knew was called the Doctor. She begged him to stop, and shouted out all the warnings she could think of, if he didn't turn away soon there was no way he could stop in time! A moment before it was too late, he seemed to hear her, veering off across someone's lawn and speeding away. Sora slowed to a halt and stood there in shock, trying to catch her breath and feeling utterly relieved that this man was safe, although she couldn't for the life of her understand why… The sense of respite didn't last long however, as she was thrown to the ground by a faceless man in an old fashioned suit, who hissed curses at her in a callous whisper, staring into her soul with invisible eyes. She cried out as she saw his hand reach down to her, inching towards where her heart was thudding rapidly in her chest… But, just as the hand was about to touch her, it suddenly melted away, as did everything else around her, leaving her surrounded by darkness. "Clara!" A voice called out. That wasn't her name was it? It couldn't be… where was she? What had happened to the faceless man? "Clara!" The same voice called again, stronger than before. All around her strange lights started appearing, concentric circles swirling inside of each other, cast in shades of oranges and gold… Feeling so confused, she could no longer keep herself from sobbing, she didn't know where she was, and she didn't know who she was. Her hands moved up to her face, clenching into fists against her tearstained cheeks, but then a gentle pressure settled on them, pulling them back down and holding them with a fearsome gentleness. She hesitated but looked up; it wasn't dark anymore, and a beautiful young man in a bowtie was staring down at her, eyes filled with concern and wonder. "My Clara, it's okay, I promise it's going to be okay. I found you, you're safe, and I'll take you home aga-"_

My eyes fly open, to once again find the Doctor's hands clasping both sides of my head, his body pinning me upright against a desk just beside the computer I had been trying to use... The loud snapping noise rings inside of the room, and he jerks back for a second before gasping slightly and pushing right back against me again, reaching behind us to stop the table cloth from pooling into a heap on the floor.

"Hey there, well that was… sort of better wasn't it?" He says somewhat breathlessly, reaching up to stroke my hair.

"How was that better?" I rasp out, blinking a few times and shaking my hand that is still tingling from the shock I got.

"Better because I am going to go ahead and believe that you actually let me in of your own free will, and that it had nothing to do with the fact that you were stunned into unconsciousness which would make it a lot harder to notice my presence in your head until the shock wore off a bit… That was a good save by the way, blimey, forgot how recklessly I drove Bessie sometimes. You saved me Clara, _thank you_."

"You saw all of that?" I manage to choke out, pushing his hands aside and stepping away from the table.

"Most of it." He answers hesitantly.

"Well, I'm kind of afraid to let you near the Maitland's car again when all this is over."

"I've had a long while since then to hone my skills; my aim with a ladder truck is verging on incredible."

"I'm sure you have a lot of impressive skills I could appreciate Doctor, but it's your keeping tires on the road skills I am worried about at the moment."

"Roads can be overrated, they are very linear, and never take you to the best places."

"No you do that, but the TARDIS doesn't exactly have tires to worry about does she?"

"Okay… Point taken, but how else are you going to make sure Angie doesn't sneak off to Nina's on Thursdays after school instead of getting to her homework if you have to get Artie yourself?"

"You could watch her?"

He tilts his head a bit, rolling his eyes slightly and weighing his options.

"The photosynthesis in the front flowerbeds has un-optimized itself again, I could fix that while I keep an eye on her, you know, be helpful..."

We both chuckle, almost a little nervously.

We're talking about _normal_ things, the little things I have to do every day. Most of those days used to be Doctor-less days, my responsibilities carry on with or without him… though they seemed to be carrying on _with_ him more often than without him in the last couple weeks.

But not only are we talking about my life, we're talking about _his_ life, his past.

I _know_ things from his past. I know his third face sometimes drove with reckless abandon, I know his fifth face loved cricket, I know his sixth face had the most rubbish ideas on what to wear of any of them… If we weren't in the middle of whatever is going on, we could sit down and he could talk to me about things from his past and I might actually understand them… Wow… What is this going to mean for us?

Through our conversation, Ria's undivided attention has been on the same machine that had stunned me, hands moving efficiently across the touch screen, pulling files up and arranging them in some kind of order, a look of being completely intent on her work etched on her face.

"Well someone has the magic touch apparently." I joke to her, a little bitter sounding.

"No, it just only had enough juice for one shock." She mumbles back in a distracted tone before putting a hand behind her head, groaning in frustration and pointing angrily at the screen with her other hand.

"The records are right _there_, I've found them, but they are locked up pretty tight, I'm useless with computers, I can't get at them..."

Brushing past her I give them both a grin and quirk an eyebrow at them. Besides the Victorian me, there is one other echo that I can remember pretty easily on my own: Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager for the Starship Alaska. Probably both the most and least _human_ I have ever been…

"Luckily I recall a time when I was a 'total screaming genius' with computers, let me have a go if it's safe to touch now. I'll have them in no time."

"Not 'was' Clara, you _are_ a genius, Oswin was _you_. She was your cleverness, your wit and ability to think things through, your _stubbornness_, and your refusal to have your ability to love be taken away from you." The Doctor insists firmly.

"Does that mean I'm a tiny bit sexy too?" I ask playfully, getting to work on the security programs and listening to his wordless sounds behind me, starting at a high pitched protest but lowering to a 'humph' that I would call a reluctant agreement… Well well _Chin Boy_…

"I don't have a clue what you two are talking about, but it might be nice to get let in on some of this… I know it's not the best time, but I have kind of put myself out on a limb for you." Ria mentions worriedly, toeing the floor with her boot.

Compared to Dalek technology, or even the system that group at the Shard was using, this is absolutely nothing, just a set of a few password locks that can be bypassed with ease. I guess they were hoping the physical protection of the machine's location would keep it safe. Less than a minute later, all of the files Ria pulled up are unlocked and readable, well they are _open_, but I can't read them…

"Got it, but I can't make any sense of these. It almost looks like code, just strings of numbers and symbols. Maybe it was encrypted as well…" My hands start to move again, determined to find out if the records have been coded, but Ria reaches out to stop me.

"No, they're not encrypted, just written in a system that is easier for archiving. They are government records. Each row and column corresponds to a piece of information about an acquisition, the agency that made the sale, price, quantity, the company that moved the goods if applicable, what exactly was purchased and so on." Ria tells me, pointing to each row or column while describing it and flicking through the files.

"So they _are_ coded then, just by their writers and not their hackers." The Doctor grumps behind us.

Ria smiles knowingly at him, before she replies.

"Anything with this symbol in the third position is a dry grain of some kind, like wheat or corn. If you look through there are at least a dozen different sequences in the row for the freight company delivering the goods, I know for a fact that Devedas, Fredonia, Darling & Luther and Qianlong are all in there. Every purchase was made in the last six months, it would take that many companies to move it all, and it would probably help make it more discrete too. We're talking quantities to put the best stocked Federal Reserve's to _shame_. And it's all been coming to this city, to Estevan."

"How can you get all that?" I ask somewhat incredulously. The Doctor looks equally shocked; he couldn't make sense of the strings of numbers and symbols either. It isn't a proper language, so the TARDIS translation matrix doesn't sort it out.

"Um… I have a pretty good memory… Hikaru has to use the same system for a lot of the Devedas records she maintains, I help her sometimes when things are slow, so I've worked with it before." She tells us quickly, clearing her throat before continuing.

"Doctor, you said that the Etulians don't have a natural sun, just a synthetic replacement that keeps the place from going dark and cold, does that effect their growing season? Would that make foodstuffs a real asset? A price that would be hard to beat?"

The Doctor mulls over her words, seeming to be headed for a deep thought, when the velvety voice of the female Etulian, Captain Kelvia, and the other male she was with float down from the balcony above us. I forcibly shove the Doctor under the covered desk he had pinned me to in my shock induced state; before tugging my hood back over my head and diving right after him.

"Ria, _get_ down here!" I hiss up to her in a forced whisper.

She doesn't listen though, judging by the tapping noises she is trying to put all of the files away we just rooted through to cover our tracks. The voice of Captain Kelvia continues to get louder, until I can actually make out what she is saying.

"These earthling thugs are not handling the situation outside as well as I would like and they are being rather difficult to convince to just get on with things and show us this _girl_."

"Agreed Captain, could we call in our guard to quiet this rabble down? With… _discretion_ of course."

"Now now Naveesis, Control may not like that- _but_ if we get the girl then our means meet their end..." She hums, seeming to savour the thought of finding… well probably finding _me_. All I can see of Ria are her feet, and I don't dare whisper to her again, they sound too close now. The Doctor starts to try and push past me to get her, but I grab his shoulders, keeping him in place.

He looks at me questioningly, and I just shake my head, moving my fingers up to trail over his bowtie, trying to remind him of what Naveesis had said earlier, about knowing that the person they were looking for was with a… _uniquely_ dressed alien. His face hardens, but he looks me in the eyes. He wants to help her, but oddly Ria's probably got a better chance on her own right now…

"You, girl, what are you doing down there?" Naveesis calls, obviously having gotten close enough to see Ria.

"This place is under attack, wouldn't want valuable information falling into the wrong hands." She answers.

The steps from the balcony begin to groan, meaning that they must be coming downstairs. This can't really get much worse can it? Oh I shouldn't have thought that, if past experiences mean anything, things can almost _always_ get worse.

"Do you know who we are girl?" Kelvia asks her, almost kindly.

"No, but I don't suppose you know who I am either." She retorts saucily.

Her boots begin to move away from us and across the room; we're not that well hidden, the table cloth we pulled askew earlier helps but not that much… It looks like she is intentionally trying to keep their focus away from our direction. I _hate_ this… Sitting and hiding is _not_ what we do…

"No, we don't know who you might be, but you have a most, how do you humans say it, _pleasing_ form? I am sure your face would also be aesthetically intriguing, why don't you take that hood off and show it to us?" Naveesis asks, tone dripping with a fake charm.

"Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer… They're speaking Etulian… Don't answer; they'll know you're not normal if you answer… Please…" The Doctor begs silently, shutting his eyes tightly.

The next sound that leaves Ria's mouth however is a scream, followed by the sound of shoes scuffling off the ground.

"Got her Ma'am." A new voice says.

"Thank you Private Jocaal. Now, please loosen your choke hold enough to show us her _pretty_ face." Kelvia keens.

The Doctor's eyes shoot open as his hand flies to his vest pocket, pulling out a tiny brass mirror, which he angles carefully on the floor, giving us a hazy reverse image of what is happening in the room.

Kelvia seems to be distracted by a small screen in her hand, which I think she is reading. Another of the Etulians has his arm around Ria's throat, with her own gun to her head as her hands clutch to his arm, trying to pull it away enough to breath. Naveesis is stalking towards them, reaching out to pull the hood from Ria's face.

"Heh, not so pretty after all, what are these little brown spots on your skin." Naveesis sneers at her, thumbing at her freckles before running a finger down her braid.

"Now now, let's not be uncivilized. I don't know who she is, but I have a rather strong suspicion that she shouldn't be here; there is no way she is working for a toad like Reginald. We can deal with her later, she might know something, or _be_ something we need. We can take back what we lent to Reginald and see for ourselves." Kelvia says in an evil tone, leering at Ria and reaching out to touch her hair as well.

"Jocaal, make sure she will be waiting for us to return, and join us in the atrium, Lieutenant Serdan has reported that Reginald has failed us, the girls he had have escaped, all of them. Even if he had the one we want, he is no longer of any use and this petty gun fight outside is getting out of control; Reginald's competitors have infiltrated the building. I am calling in a strike to neutralize the area before our involvement becomes known. There are plenty of other humans for us to deal with. So many are _so_ eager to be of assistance..."

"Now, Captain, the one we had scanned positive! I swear she did! I saw it myself! There was a spike of energy in this very building a few minutes ago, she can't have gone far, we'll bring her back!" Reginald's panicked voice suddenly sounds from above.

"If you were not on the brink of having your headquarters taken over, I might agree with you. But please, do join us in the atrium." She orders, voice no longer sounding so smooth...


	16. Branching Out

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****16 – **_**Branching Out**_

* * *

Kelvia and Naveesis strut towards the staircase, ushering a terrified looking Reginald out of the room with them. My heart is imploring for us to come out and help Ria now… There is only one of these Etulians left; we can deal with one right?

"Stay where you are, I'll be fine!" Ria shouts out in gasps.

"Shut up girl, what is this gibberish?" Jocaal growls at Ria.

What is she doing? After all that she is going to blow our cover _now_? I'm about to yell back when the Doctor's hand claps over my mouth, forcibly silencing any words I might have had before lowering his mouth to hover just above my ear.

"She said that in French, which the Etulians wouldn't have learned, he won't have understood her. It was a clever gamble on her part." He says, so quietly I can barely hear him despite the… _extreme_… proximity.

Having been distracted from our tiny mirror, I missed Jocaal releasing Ria from the choke hold and cuffing her hands behind her back around a support beam.

"No hard feelings girl, I will be keeping this weapon, it has a lovely weight to it, and decent craftsmanship. It will make an excellent souvenir from this assignment for my son." Jocaal tells her, experimentally holding the weapon out and taking a stance that points him in our direction.

"Oh none at all, it's not as if stealing is a crime or anything." She snarls defiantly at him, struggling against the handcuffs, clanging them off of the metal beam, drawing his attention back towards her.

"Excellent, well hopefully there are no hard feelings for this either then."

He raises the gun, and fires a pair of shots that hit her in the lower leg, singeing two holes in her trousers.

"Now you certainly won't be going anywhere." He informs her, tucking the gun into his belt and marching up the balcony stairs to join the others.

There is no stopping the Doctor this time, not that I tried because as soon as I heard that door shut I rushed from under the table myself.

"Are you okay?" I ask her as, running a hand gently over her leg while the Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to unlock the handcuffs.

"I can hardly feel anything below my hip on that side now, stun setting, it's very effective. But remind me to apologize to Vladimir later... That first impact _hurts_." She groans through clenched teeth.

The sound of something falling starts whizzing from outside, before a massive explosion rings out, and a hissing noise fills the air.

"Oh no no no no no!" The Doctor exclaims, putting an arm under Ria's shoulders and hauling her onto her feet, taking the weight of her limp leg.

"We have to get out of her now!" He tells us worriedly. After a few awkward steps it's obvious that Ria can't go anywhere fast right now, even with his help.

The cause of the Doctor's concern abruptly appears behind us, as the hissing gets louder and a lime green gas starts drifting in through the edges of the windows. This must be what Kelvia meant about calling in a strike of some kind, it must have been a gas canister we heard explode outside!

"That will be poisonous of course?" I ask, not that I really have any hope that it isn't, but better to know for sure…

"Yeah…" He replies as his grip shifts down around Ria's waist, trying to drag her along.

"Doctor just _carry_ her!" Did he need permission or something? We have to get out of here! He has never thought twice about grabbing _me_ when he needed to…

"Wait no…" She tries to protest as he scoops her up clumsily and we make a dash for the door farthest from where the gas is slowly leaking into the building. He shoves it open with his back, sending the handle crashing off the wall behind it, no longer caring if anyone hears us.

"Clara, sonic, in pocket, please grab." He shoves the left pocket of his pants out, allowing me to take his ever useful device.

"Okay now what?"

"Point it at the wall, think about wanting a floor plan, wave it about a bit, and show it here!"

I've seen him do this so much I don't know why I feel self conscious doing it myself, fumbling a bit before leveling it at the wall and moving my arm in a line. "That's fine, let me see!" He says hurriedly leaning closer to me and observing whatever readings I managed to take.

"Fantastic, exit this way, ladies, allons-y!" He shouts, racing down the hallway and taking a quick left to a darker passage, the gas trailing visibly behind us. His expression lightens slightly as a rusty door comes into our view.

"Mind getting that Clara?"

Right, I still have the sonic screwdriver… The door opens with a click, and we find ourselves on a small staircase outside not unlike the one we had come in from. The door is similarly set under a brick arch, and the stairs lead down to a deserted back street. There are also the same strange black trees with the white leaves lining this street as were on the main road. Wait a minute…

Trees with leaves that purified pollution out of the air, made it breathable! That was what he told me right?

"Doctor, can you get these trees working?"

"What?"

"The air, you said they were used to clean the air, could they possibly be amplified to do something to deal with the poison gas?"

He stares at me for a second before his lips twist into that mad grin he gets when an idea turns up against the odds, and leans over Ria to kiss my forehead.

"Don't mind me at all." She says uncomfortably.

He gently puts her down against the nearest tree trunk and I toss him the sonic screwdriver. Running his hands over the smooth black casing he finds an edge and pries off a panel. Some zaps with the sonic, a few loose wires reconnected and seconds that feel like they take an eternity thanks to the approaching noxious fumes later, the tree starts humming loudly as its pale leaves glimmer slightly.

"Stay as close as you can, this won't be able to filter a very large area, and we'll probably still feel _some_ of the effects, but it will be enough for us not to die at least."

"Not dying is good." I utter quietly. He leans his back against the tree, and pulls me so I am right up against him.

As the green gas catches us, and slowly surrounds the tree, the air within the first few feet of the tree takes on only a mildly green tinge, creating a bubble of mostly safe space around us.

"No choice but to wait here until it clears." The Doctor laments.

"Well darn, I was going to run a marathon." Ria jokes. The Doctor laughs awkwardly, like he can't tell if she was being funny or not, but wanting to cover his bases just in case. He slumps down against the tree, patting the tiny space between him and Ria for me to join him. I sit next to him just in time to hear the screams from inside the building and around the streets…

The Doctor throws an arm around my shoulders, pulling my face into his chest like he can somehow block out the sounds of people in obvious pain all around us.

"It's slow acting poison… It takes a few minutes of exposure before you feel the effects, and longer still before… well..."

"Could you get more of the trees on? Would that be enough to clear out more of the area?" I ask him.

"I don't know." He admits, eyes scanning the other trees.

"You'll try anyways though won't you." It wasn't a question at all; I know he is going to.

"If I get a few of them running, it might trip an override and get the rest online, all the ones on the same grid at least, which should be the most of the lower city..." He speculates, free arm going to his bowtie, giving it a tug before hopping to his feet. He is about to leave when Ria suddenly gasps, before sputtering apologies.

"Sorry, feeling is coming back, not good feeling at the moment…" She tries to laugh it off, but the Doctor kneels in front of her, setting a hand on her shoulder and looking at her kindly.

"I know you don't really have anywhere else to go, but stay put for now eh?" He tells her, echoing her words from when she first found us, bringing a tired smile to her face. His eyes flash over to me before he stands up and runs towards the closest tree.

Ria isn't much for conversation at the moment, not that I blame her. Judging by her expression, she is trying hard not to cry right now. It's a familiar look; I have worn it myself on many occasions, not usually because of injuries, but pain isn't always a physical thing... Carefully I shift a bit closer to her so she can lean on me if she wants to, but I keep my eyes focused on the Doctor's work, giving her what little privacy I can to hurt in peace.

The Doctor is moving quickly, and has already gotten another pair of the trees humming with life again. Soon the humming is all around us, as he gets more and more of the trees back online. He wipes his sweaty hair from his brow, and is about to make a dash for another of the trees when there is a collective jolt, shaking the street slightly as all of the trees around us begin vibrating gently and humming loudly.

Taking a deep breath of relief, my head starts to feel a little funny though, and before I know it the street is dimming and I can feel soft, warm leather against my cheek…

_Larin Wald's shift was almost over, only another ten minutes and she could finally leave the hospital. Her boss was incredibly anxious, and seemed to be taking it out on all of the nurses. It had something to do with Dr. Holloway and the man who had died as far as Larin knew. That poor man… Larin shook her head as she walked towards the morgue, she didn't believe in ghosts, but that didn't mean she liked having to come here either. When she pried open the door, she was shocked to see another person already inside, who was hovering over the body of Holloway's lost patient. The stranger spoke with a bone chilling monotone, instructing Larin to flee, he had more important things to worry about than a pathetic human. She flatly refused, telling him that he had no business being here, and that he needed to leave. The man hissed at her, suddenly baring long pointed teeth, saying that the body was still dangerous and needed to be properly disposed of, that the nightmare would finally end when he did. He raised a hand and charged at her, but Larin was quick, sidestepping him and smashing him over the head with her heavy metal clipboard, seeming to knock him unconscious. Larin grabbed the nearest phone, calling for the hospital security to come and remove the man. Although the officers told her to leave the room, that the body that this stranger wanted was dead so there was no reason to stay and guard him until they arrived, Larin didn't go. She didn't know why, but she had to stay with him, she had to protect him. When a hand gently rested on her shoulder, she screamed, raising the clipboard again and slamming it down on whoever was behind her, assuming it was another assailant… Instead it was a young man, young except for his eyes, which seemed so familiar to her and yet so strange at the same time… He looked shocked that she had struck him for a moment and rubbed his head before he began speaking. "Clara, it's okay, you're okay." He coaxed her, hand hesitantly reaching for hers. She stepped away from him, eyeing him up, trying to understand why she felt so overjoyed to see him… The morgue doors faded away behind her, as did the rest of the room, leaving only her and this man in a dark void of space. "It's me Clara, the Doctor." He said gently. "Doctor Who?" She replied. He grinned and the blackness around them began to glow orange and gold. "You know who Clara, you know who I am, and I know what you will always mean to me." He told her contentedly before stepping towards her again..._

A crackling noise accompanies my eyes opening, not as harsh as the seemingly ever present snapping sound. Instead of Ria leaning on _my_ shoulder, as I had planned when I scooted closer to her, I am resting against her, with the Doctor kneeling in front of me, hands on my face, his expression just slightly disgruntled instead of pained as it usually was when I forced him out of my mind. Maybe I had been gentler this time, and that was why the sound wasn't as loud..?

You know, I would really like to wake up and see his face smiling next to me instead of looking down worriedly at me.

"_Ouch_." He says, feigning hurt and moving a hand up to where I had- to where _Larin_ had… to where he had been hit.

"Sorry…" I mumble.

"No, I'm sorry Clara, I should have thought of this, like I said, with the one tree it mitigated the poison's effects but it wasn't enough to totally purify the air… You had to sit in it for too long so you got drowsy." He apologises before dropping down next to me again, an expression of guilt in his eyes.

"Why didn't it get to you or Ria?" I ask.

"Different physiology, my body is a lot hardier than humans, most of the time at least." The Doctor answers.

"I think I was too busy worrying about you…" Ria admits, shifting her weight a bit as I sit up again and rub my eyes.

"How do you do it?" I blurt without thinking about it.

Neither of them seems to know who I am talking to, or what I mean.

"Ria, you see past the psychic paper, and you somehow still came out with another language in there despite the fact that the TARDIS translation matrix is in your head. How do you do it? Sort out what is real, and what is just in your head?"

"I don't really know… I just… Well, I always try to figure out how things relate to each other, what makes sense, how something works, I did that long before I met you two. It's just the way I think, I don't know…" She answers cautiously.

Several minutes of silence later, an authoritative female voice calls out, cutting through the humming and what remains of the green swirling gas. The Doctor jumps to his feet, and acting on instinct I leap up right behind him.

"Everyone, this air is reading near normal, if you find civilians give them your masks to try and bring their oxygen levels back to normal!"

Ria's face brightens and she cranes her neck. "That's Detective Inspector Hadia, Walt used to work with her before he became a Joint Marshal!" She tells us excitedly.

A group of men and women in Kevlar vests and police uniforms slowly come into sight, some of them training weapons carefully in all directions, others carrying medical equipment, but all wearing masks over their faces and concerned looks in their eyes.

One of the men with a first aid kit slung over his shoulder spots us, and quickly pulls down his mask.

"Mademoiselle London! It has been far too long! What are you doing here?" He calls with deep voice and a mild French accent. He breaks away from the group, to Hadia's protest and runs towards us, pulling Ria up into a crushing hug that she didn't seem to expect. A moment later when he let her go, his eyes find the Doctor and I standing uncertainly beside her.

"Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Émeric Delacroix, Assistant Deputy Chief Paramedic for Lower City Enforcement Head Office." He places a swift peck on both of my cheeks after his introduction, earning him a look of distain from the Doctor.

The others have caught up to him now, and two of the other medics offer us their gas masks, but the Doctor shakes his head, telling them there will be others that need them more than we do. Émeric has turned his attention to Ria's still mostly limp leg, while Hadia is bombarding her questions.

"She's hurt Detective Inspector, leave her be." I tell her firmly, while the Doctor pulls out the psychic paper yet again to prove our imaginary credentials.

"As you say Ma'am." She grumbles reluctantly to me.

"Émeric, take an escort and get these Marshals and the girl back to headquarters, make sure they are all okay and then send Walter MacEwan a message, he's been driving me nuts all night worrying about this one. Rumsfeld, Avery, you go with him. Everyone else, move out!" She orders, and the rest of the company continues its careful march down the street, leaving the three of us with our new guards and the rather dashing medic.

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**A/N: Hello readers! Life will slow down a bit for the next few chapters, like you lovely folks, Clara and the Doctor have taken in a lot of information over the last little bit and now they have to sort it out and deal with it, among other things. I'm glad that (from what I hear at least) the plot has been interesting/at least mildly engaging. **

**My lead on written chapters is being cut down again, which means that I will need to go off and get more big blocks written again soon, so just a little question for anyone who has an opinion on it: would you want more, less or the same amount of time spent on/with the OC's? I can promise more Clara and Doctor times regardless, but since Victoria and company are my characters, they offer me some flexibility on how often they are around. I know my plot and I know where we are going in the end, but I am happy to change some of the smaller things if it will make this more interesting for you all! **


	17. What Buttons to Press

**A/N: Play spot the Snowmen quotes and don't hate me ladies and gents… Thank you **_**so**_** much for all the feedback! **

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**Health and Safety: Chapter ****17 – **_**What Buttons to Press **_

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As the company gets farther away, our two armed guards move to flank Émeric, motioning for us to stay between them. Ria uses the tree for support and struggles to stand, taking one _very_ shaky step forward before she is swept up gracefully by Émeric, who tosses his medical kit effortlessly to the Doctor.

"Take care of that for me will you Doctor Smith?"

Émeric leads the way, skirting us around small side streets, and through a dilapidated building, much to Ria's protests. She keeps telling him that not taking the main roads is a bad plan, through gritted teeth and a slight flush. He seems to think that staying on the path less traveled will keep us out of sight; she seems to think it will make us more likely to run into unsavory company. I'm not really sure who I agree with, but she isn't in the strongest position to argue, and he keeps hushing her in an easy tone. Eventually, she gives up and falls uneasily silent.

"Where are you from Émeric?" I ask, hoping to keep them from bickering.

"Montreal, well _technically_ I was born in a small parish outside of the city, but you will never have heard of it and I did grow up in Montreal." He tells me cheerfully.

"What made you come out here?"

"I got a contract job as a medic for Devedas Freight right out of college, I didn't really know what I signed up for though, and certainly didn't think it would mean moving out here. When they stuck me in the middle of a wagon train, I didn't know which end of the horses was more dangerous. Luckily Victoria was kind enough to show me what was what. I'd never even sat on a horse before then, it was a relief to have someone around who knew what they were doing. When my contract was up, I was hired by Enforcement, which was a relief, much steadier work. I'm not built to live out of a saddle."

It isn't lost on me that he calls her 'Victoria' and not 'Ria.'

Somehow we have ended up back on the same road where the TARDIS landed, in a very roundabout way I think. We retrace our steps all the way back to the formerly deserted Enforcement Office, now buzzing with life.

Émeric kindly dismisses our escort once we are inside, and steers us down a brightly lit hallway towards a locked door. He carefully pulls out a key card to open it, ensuring he doesn't jar Ria in the process.

The door slides open, revealing what I think is a state of the art medical facility. It has a clean and clinical feeling to it, smelling faintly of lemons. There are several unoccupied hospital beds and metal tables full of instruments in the room, as well as a few sleepy looking people sitting at desks. They jump to their feet when we walk in, asking if they can be of any assistance.

"No, I will see to Mademoiselle London, and I am sure Doctor Smith will look to his partner." Émeric tells them, marching into a large office, which I assume is his. He sets Ria gently down on the examining table, and then turns to the Doctor.

"Doctor Smith, would you be so kind as to inform Marshal MacEwan that you are all alive still? I will show you to the communications room, he really has been harassing us all night…"

The Doctor nods, flipping a glance over his shoulder to me as he heads to the door. I give him a thumbs up and an eyebrow quirk. I'll be fine Doctor…

"So what is it that keeps happening to you Clara, what do you mean when you say you remember being different people?" Ria asks me once the two of them are gone.

Where do I start? She really deserves an answer of some kind; she has gotten tied up in all of this too…

"There was a man, more of a monster actually; he attacked the Doctor, from the inside out. He got inside of his life, and tried to destroy the Doctor all at once. Doing it killed him, but he was so racked with hate he didn't care, the real him died, but his echoes got scattered across the Doctor's life, killing him in a thousand places all at once… I went in after it and _my_ echoes, they saved the Doctor."

"If it killed him why didn't it kill you?"

"Because the Doctor came in after me… He got the _real_ me out again. This happened just before you found us, there is a lot we still don't understand, but when I sleep or lose consciousness, it's like my mind can't focus, and it gets caught up in the lives of the echoes, seeing what they saw, feeling what they felt. The Doctor keeps trying to get into my head, to keep me from getting lost, but I'm not very good about letting him."

She stares at me for a moment, obviously trying to digest what I just told her.

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why don't you let him in?"

"Would you want someone inside _your_ head?"

"Not someone I didn't trust no." She answers keenly.

"How's your leg?" I ask her innocently, to which she chuckles before trying to move it again. It cooperates more than it had earlier but it's still obviously troubling her.

"Well getting torn into echoes across someone's life puts a nosebleed and a numb limb into perspective doesn't it? Never a dull moment for you two is there?" Ria sighs.

"Not really no." I concede.

"In all fairness though, it was kind of my fault both times. Maybe I _don't_ know how to keep my mouth shut…"

"I would say the opposite; it's more like you know when to _not_ stay quiet. I know it hasn't ended well for you… But those Etulians would have found us if you hadn't kept them occupied, and someone needed to try and stop Strax and that Russian."

She smiles again before grimacing as her leg twitches a bit.

"Okay, the feeling is definitely coming back now…"

"Well on the bright side, you literally got swept off your feet by a paramedic that is more than a little nice at least. The uniform helps, not that he needs it." I remark a little offhandedly, hoping to keep her mind off of her leg.

"I hadn't noticed." She snaps.

"Really?"

"No, it never crossed my mind once while I was keeping his lovely French arse in a saddle instead of letting it get trampled by thousand pound equines or heavily laden carts." She grumbles sarcastically. Oh I have definitely stumbled on a sore subject…

The French arse in question reappears, a long white lab coat replacing his Kevlar vest.

"Mademoiselle Oswald, your partner is waiting outside for you. I expect Victoria is fine, it'll just take a little while for the effects of the stun shot to wear off. I probably ought to check her over though, you two seemed to be exposed to that gas for longer than my medical opinion would prefer. I'll take a look and then send her to find you two." He tells me with a smile.

Giving Ria a last glance before I step out, I see her attention has become focused on the holes seared in her trousers, ignoring us both... The Doctor is waiting anxiously in the corridor, bobbing up and down on his feet. He ushers me down the hall with some urgency, squeaking in protest when I stop to collect what I hope is a spare paramedic uniform hanging outside a room that has the scent of clean laundry wafting from of it.

"Walt is coming to get us, to escort us back to Bordure as part of a 'special task force' sent by Estevan Enforcement sent to 'investigate' the disappearances in the immediate area."

"You didn't tell them what is really going on then?"

"No, I can hardly explain the situation. Ignorance is not Carlyle in this situation, it is bliss. We just have to wait the Etulians out, if they come up to the official landing and the exchange with the government, I expect they will honour the arrangement. After we botched their gas attack I don't think they will want to try anything else heavy handed."

"Waiting for something to go away on its own isn't usually the way we do things..."

"Nothing about what has happened is usual Clara." He says darkly.

"Where are Vastra, Jenny and Strax?"

"They're here; they started rattling chains to get this lot back to work. The gas attack helped, hard to ignore that..."

He opens a door for me, putting a hand on the small of my back and guiding me into another office, seeming to relax slightly once he shuts the door behind us.

"Mind taking off that jacket?" He asks quietly.

"We could go anywhere though, or we could stay here, why exactly are we going back to Bordure?" I reply, setting the borrowed uniform on a chair so my hands are free to unzip the leather jacket and slide it off.

He shrugs, and pulls a steel table laden with medical equipment towards him, picking up a stethoscope and setting it around his neck.

"We can't use the TARDIS to go anywhere right now, if the Etulians mean what I _think_ they did about having some kind of device that detects Artron energy- that's time energy by the way, getting the old girl moving would be like a big beacon in the sky. I don't know how they missed us arriving here in the first place."

He motions for me to come closer and steps behind me, fingers hesitantly finding the hem of my shirt.

"What are you _doing_?" I ask quickly. It's a good thing he is behind me and can't see the look on my face at the moment.

"Making sure you're okay, stethoscope, you know, heart beat and… lung stuff… Like I said, the gas effects were mitigated but not totally eliminated, I want to be sure… you've had a rough go of it all recently…"

He trails off, not moving his hand from where his thumb has found its way under my shirt. Weighing my possible responses, and the impossible ones too for good measure, I just decide to nod.

"Breathe normally okay? I am surprisingly _qualified_ to be doing this." He tells me, slipping the stethoscope up the back of my shirt easily.

What exactly are you qualified for here Doctor? And what makes you qualified? Oh, right, normal breathing…

"You're heart rate is up Clara…" He informs me somewhat distractedly, moving the warming metal slightly to the left and setting his other hand on my shoulder as if to steady me.

"Why else do you want to go back to Bordure? You usually have lots of reasons for stuff." I get out hastily.

He pulls the stethoscope from under my shirt, moving to face me and placing it just below my collar bone, two long fingers hovering just underneath the neckline of my shirt to hold it in place as his other hand finds my forehead.

"No fever… Are you able to breathe normally? Is it difficult at all?"

My eyes are fixed on our feet at the moment so I can't see his face, but his tone is wrong, it isn't the one that usually comes out when he is worried about me, it's verging on _amused_…

"Clara, is it hard to _breath_?" He asks me again, more slowly, voice lingering over my name.

You.

Daft.

_Idiot_.

We can place full responsibility for my rapid heart rate and shaky breaths on an alien alright Doctor, just not the ones you seem worried about.

"Why else do you want to go back to Bordure?" I repeat.

He takes a step back, setting the stethoscope down and looking at me with a rather peculiar expression, as if he is arriving at a conclusion he likes but may not have expected.

"It's a busy place, lots of comings and goings; if we stick with the Enforcement detachment we may be able to pass unnoticed, for a few days at least."

Hoping that we of all people can pass unnoticed is a rather optimistic idea…

"There is something else we can do for trying to go unnoticed."

"And how would we do that?"

"With this." I say as I point to the paramedic uniform in the nearby chair.

He picks up the hat experimentally, twirling it in his hands before arranging it carefully over his hair and giving me a look that can't mean anything other than 'I wear a beret now, berets are cool."

"How does this help us go unnoticed?" He asks before tossing the hat back into the chair.

"Do I always have to state the obvious?" I ask with a smirk, snaking my hands up around his neck and undoing the bowtie, winding it around my hand so he can't take it back.

"Clara, what are _you_ doing?" He inquires curiously.

"You heard what the Etulians said Doctor, the person they are looking for is known to 'cavort' with an alien who can't dress to fit in? _You're_ going to have to take those clothes off. "

We have skipped the part where I find out if he came to the same conclusion as I did about me being the one they were after, but oh well, since when have we cared about doing things in a proper linear progression? We have a time machine; we never have to wait for breakfast if we don't want to.

"What is _wrong_ with the way I dress?" He asks leisurely

"We're actually working on undressing you right now Doctor."

Instead of his eyes flying wide like I expected them to, they actually narrow as his shoulders drop, making his whole posture more grounded towards me. Seeing no protest, I start working on his vest buttons, carefully unclipping the delicate pocket watch from its fob and letting it slip into my own pocket.

This is all a purely practical exercise, entirely, totally, utterly and completely, _obviously_… Just like him checking my heart rate was… probably..?

"Doctor?" My voice quivers out in a question as the last button on the vest comes undone. I expected him to stop me I think, I expected _me_ to stop me, I was just going to get him started on this with the bowtie, because I have wanted to get that off of him _forever_ and this was a brilliant excuse, I mean _reason_, to do so.

His response is nothing more than a low hum as shrugs off his vest before raising one of his hands to rest on my shoulder and pressing the other against my hip.

His bracers are the next thing that needs to go.

Right?

Why am I doing this again?

"Doctor, I… one way or another you're going to have to take those clothes off." I say once more.

That would, of _course_, be the moment that Ria chose to walk into the room, just in time to hear _that_.

"I… sorry I… sorry… didn't know… well didn't think... crazy aliens and the kidnappings and all... not that you two haven't… um, sorry, bad timing, I have it, a lot actually. Didn't mean to interrupt you..." She sputters helplessly, looking everywhere in the room except at us.

"You didn't interrupt anything Victoria, Clara and I were just discussing... health and safety." The Doctor tells her, taking his hands back but not stepping any farther away from me.

Neither of us graces his feeble joke with a laugh. Well I call it a joke; he might not have meant it that way…

His eyes keep flicking between my face and Ria's, expectedly waiting for one of us to break the _maddeningly_ loud silence that has enveloped the room.

She moves her hands around a bit, gesturing like she is trying to propel her voice back into being before she finally starts speaking again.

"Okay, well, I was going to... ask… something… Émeric wanted to know… but on second thought it _really_ doesn't matter..." Her voice trails off for a few seconds before she continues.

"I'm just going to take the elephant in the room out for a walk; we both feel a little crowded in here..."

She mimes clipping a leash onto the imaginary elephant and limps back out of the room as quickly as her still unsteady leg will allow.


	18. Leave it Open

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****18 – **_**Leave it Open**_

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Maybe it has just become force of habit for the Doctor to leave doors unlocked. After all, I can't get into the TARDIS if he doesn't, I don't have a key. But, it might be a habit he needs to work on, the not locking things I mean. No, this situation isn't as bad as me being pulled out of the TARDIS and plummeting to my eventual death, not in the slightest, but it still could have been easily avoided if he had locked the door behind us when we came in. It really can be the small things in life that can make all the difference…

"I grabbed the uniform for you." I finally tell him, before picking up the garments in question and pushing them into his chest where his hands snap up to grab them.

"I gathered that much." He responds tepidly. "I was serious Clara; we _were_ discussing health and safety. I was worried about your well being, your health, and you were worried about me getting spotted wearing this, my safety. We just, weren't using a lot of _words_ in the discussion…"

Well that is the truth isn't it?

"No we weren't."

"No, we really weren't." He affirms again, tilting his head slightly.

"Thank you Doctor, we have very much established the principle now."

His expression shifts suddenly, eyes widening.

"What did you say?"

"I said thank you Doc-" His finger to my lips silences me.

"No, _before_ that, what did you say?" He asks again, letting his finger fall back enough that I can speak.

"No we whhmm-" The finger cuts me off again.

"No, way before that, I am slow, remember? Even more so when I am… _distracted_… by… things... No, what I meant is that you said that the Etulians were talking about me, _my_ clothing, which I would add is very sensible, but back to the point…"

"What is the point?" I ask, pulling his hand down from my face.

"Because if you think that they were talking about me, you also probably think that the girl they were talking about, the one they want, the one who 'cavorts' with me, you think they mean you don't you?"

"Yes."

His eyes narrow again, this time very much with concern as he leans in a little, bringing himself down to my level, one arm still holding the uniform where I shoved it into his chest while the other that had been used to silence me rests on my shoulder, eyes gauging my reaction to his next question.

"Why though, specifically, _why_? Yes, you fit the physical profile of the people they took, and if I am right about them tracking Artron energy, well you have that too, but why would you assume they want you? Why not Jenny?"

"Because I am the one who is 'brimming' with time energy."

"Clara, you were delirious with a fever and half lost in a memory when I said that."

And I felt like I was mad the second time I heard it… Talking to the madman's box…

"I may have been reminded." I hedge.

"How?"

"By the TARDIS…"

His mouth gapes open, not a bit of comprehension dawning on his face. Well, that is a first.

"She told me-"

"You _spoke_ to the _TARDIS_?" His gasps out, tone and expression rising to question my sanity.

My lips knit together of their own accord and I nod firmly in answer.

"_How_?"

"When she knocked us out, she got in my head, told me I had absorbed so much time energy so quickly when I went into your time stream that she could channel it, like a power source, use it to speak to me…"

"That is _impossible_." He says with wonder.

"You _both_ keep saying that about me and yet here we are."

"Yeah, here we are, you and m- wait." His face changes again, the light that had momentarily found his eyes dimming to a darker recognition. "The TARDIS, she said she used you as a _power source_?"

"Doctor?"

"If the Etulians can _track_ Artron energy, maybe they think they can tap it themselves somehow, usually that would be useless, human time travellers never pick up enough to make it worth the while, but you…"

He sounds scared now, the 'if' at the beginning seems like it was more for my benefit than an indication of actual doubt. Maybe it was for his benefit too, softening what sounds like a terrible truth…

"Okay, human time travelers wouldn't be worthwhile, but why wouldn't you work? Why wouldn't they have tried this before? Any energy I have picked up is just because of your time stream isn't it? You're the one who has time travelled more than anyone else." I try to reason.

"But I did it the long way, lived all the centuries to go with it all, the energy has settled into me, it's part of me, they'd never be able to extract it, but you did it all in minutes, _seconds_ possibly, it's not background radiation on you Clara, like I said, its brimming off of you, there is _so_ much of it. If there was some way to harness it… well…"

Again, the 'if' seems added for my benefit.

"So they want me to somehow become a power source for their _sun_?"

"That is never going to happen." He swears as his face becomes dangerously serious.

"Becoming a sun wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to show me the stars…" I say quickly, sounding more scared than I wanted to.

He drops the uniform without a thought, pulling me against him, like he can keep me safe by embrace alone.

"_You_ didn't say that Clara, _Oswin_ did… but it won't happen. This time I am saving _you_."

"Well, put that on for a start then, I'm going to go see what Ria wanted and make sure the… elephant… hasn't trampled her." I tell him, pulling back somewhat reluctantly and heading for the door, only to be stopped by a hand on my elbow, a hand that slides down my arm and settles on the silk fabric still wrapped around my hand.

"Bowtie, you still have." He informs me, one pale eyebrow raised in question.

"I know I do."

"I'm not getting that back any time soon am I?"

"Even you have to wait for some things Doctor." I tell him cheekily, trying to lighten his mood again after our frightening realization. He trails his fingers lightly over the material before letting my hand go, shaking his head at me but grinning lopsidedly at the same time.

"Go make sure the elephant isn't hurting anyone else then." He tells me, turning to pick up the scattered bits of the clothing from where he dropped them on the floor.

Taking a couple of deep breathes, which admittedly come easier than they did a few minutes ago, I find my way back out the main room of the ward just beyond the sliding doors. Ria is sitting on a desk, fidgeting with her hands, alternating between tapping fingers impatiently off the wooden surface she is seated on and toying with the ends of her sleeves. Émeric is crouched beside her, sewing a long tear up the leg of her trousers, which had escaped my notice a few minutes ago.

"What are you up to?" I ask them as I approach.

"I am _really_ sorry." She replies quickly instead of answering my question, making Émeric laugh and stop his work for a moment.

"Not really your fault. What happened to your trousers? I saw the wholes, but that is new."

"Slitting the pant leg was… the most _agreeable_ way we found for me to get a better look at her leg and to dress it properly, and now I'm trying to fix it as best I can. I'm not used to stitching fabric." Émeric explains as he continues working.

"Well seamstress inexperience aside, this is an improvement over the last time you stitched something of mine." She grumbles at him.

He rolls his eyes in response.

"What happened last time?" I ask them, perching on the end of the same desk Ria is occupying, unwinding the Doctor's bowtie and letting it join his watch in my pocket. Émeric's mouth curves into what is half smirk and half embarrassed smile as Ria levels him with a glare.

"Last time involved knitting my skin back together, and my consumption of a considerable amount of Icabod Irving's whiskey, because last time _someone _let their case of syringes get trampled by a loose horse, which made simply freezing the afflicted area impossible." She sounds like she is only half teasing him at best.

"You had the option to pull me or the case out of the way, and you picked me." He reminds her, grinning broadly.

I'd thought she might have been talking a little more metaphorically when she mentioned not letting him get run over, but apparently not. Her mouth tightens into a neutral expression, effectively ending her part in the conversation. He sighs, picking up a pair of scissors to cut the thread from his needle, tying the ends off tightly.

"Second opinion Clara? I think this will hold, but what do I know?" He asks, standing up and stretching his legs. I am inspecting his handiwork when the Doctor joins us, holding his arms out and taking a few exaggerated steps. Aside from that, he looks oddly _normal_. Visibly, he doesn't _look_ much older than Émeric does, and now they are dressed almost the same.

"From Joint Marshal to a mere Lieutenant, Doctor Smith, that is one hell of a demotion, what did you do to Clara to make her strip you of your title?" Émeric teases him.

"Um, well, sorry, need to borrow these for a bit." The Doctor tries to explain, face falling and blushing.

"After what Victoria tells me you did with the trees, a change of clothes is not much by way of a thank you, but if it helps, they are yours." Émeric replies with a surprising amount of earnestly, offering the Doctor his hand, shocking him when he pulls him into a one armed hug.

"Um, yes, well, you're welcome… Actually, extra favour to ask…" The Doctor replies, patting him on the back lightly. "I need to find my associates, I need to let them know what is going on, and also to get them to move my… _equipment_ up here so it can come back to Bordure with us, I was hoping they could borrow some kind of vehicle to move it with?" He asks Émeric worriedly.

"We can probably spare something." Émeric replies thoughtfully.

"I can help them." Ria offers, lightly sliding off of the desk.

"No." The Doctor and Émeric and I all reply at the same time, startling one another.

"It's not a good idea for you to be out there right now Victoria." The Doctor explains, trying to show her with his face that there is more to his explanation that he will tell her later.

"Agreed, and even you should know better than to question the opinion of two medical professionals." Émeric tells her pointedly. "Doctor Smith, your associates are upstairs. They were looking after the young girl you rescued until her family could come in to get her. She seemed very fond of the small brown fellow, kept calling him 'Mr. Potato.' Luckily for her he seems oblivious to what she is referencing… I'll send them here, I need to check in with the Director anyways, ensure everyone that is leaving with you tomorrow, well later this morning, is preparing to go." He says, pulling a keychain from his pocket and placing it in Ria's hand.

"You're staying in my office. Blankets are in the bottom shelf of the cupboard with the plants, smallest silver key. And _don't_ lock me out, okay?" Ria closes her hand around the key, and he seems to take her lack of protest as a good thing.

"Doctor Smith, the barrack rooms are at your disposal, last three doors on either side of the west wing. Get some rest; I am assuming that leather head- I mean Marshal MacEwan will be here at the crack of dawn." He says, giving us a bit of a salute as he exits through the sliding doors.

"Let's get you sorted then." I say to Ria, in what I hope was a kind tone, offering her my arm if she wants a bit of support walking, unsure of how steady she is on her feet at the moment. Inside the spacious office, she uses the key to unlock the cupboard, pulling out blankets that hopefully will make that examining bed a lot more comfortable than it looks.

She smiles a silent thanks when we are done, appearing a lot more tired than she had a little while ago.

I wish her a goodnight, and leave her to some well deserved sleep, finding the Doctor smiling in the doorframe.

"I was a nurse you know." I tell him as we wander towards the west wing.

"I expect several of your _echoes_ were nurses Clara." He says fondly.

"Why would you expect that?"

"Because you are an incredibly compassionate person, you genuinely care about people, and you are brilliant, it would make a logical career path for an _echo_ of yours." He replies.

A loud yawn escapes me as we come to the last few doors in the corridor. The Doctor pushes one open, which leads us to a square room, after flicking the light switch I am greeted by warm yellow wall paper, and two sets of bunk beds pressed against the far side of the room. Neither of them is made though, but there are sheets folded neatly beside them.

"I would rather not have you subject to the questions that are sure to follow me trying to explain this to the Paternoster residents, you want to sort this out and I will sort them out?" The Doctor asks me. I agree, fighting back another yawn.

"Try to wait for me to get back before you actually sleep if you can, okay?" He asks, gently kissing my temple. Again I agree, setting to work. We only need two beds, at this point I am willing to let Jenny or Vastra sort out their own room. A few minutes later, my small task accomplished, I sit down on the lower bunk, making sure to keep my back against the hard wall, trying to use the discomfort to keep myself awake…

_Alain Cross thought this was it, her chance to leave the nightmare, to get away from __Field Major Styre and his psychotic experimentations. She staggered forward, bleeding more than she would have liked from a wound she suffered in her escape attempt, trying desperately to find a way out. She was shocked at the sight of a man laying unconscious before her. He was incredibly tall, she could tell that even when he was sprawled on the ground, which meant that his brightly coloured scarf must have been miles long to wrap around his neck like that and still drape across his frame. Alain stopped to see if she could rouse him, he seemed incredibly familiar to her, important somehow… She shook him gently, hoping he would come around. Alain's heart felt like it stopped in her chest when she heard some of the small, spite filled guards approaching them. She took a deep breath, and made a decision. She would distract them, draw them off, help this man escape, if she did that, she had this feeling, one she couldn't understand, that he would somehow save her too. They would save each other, there was no sense to it but there was also no denying it either. So she ran, loudly, letting her footsteps draw the attention of the guards who came clattering after her, deftly striking the weak spot in the back of the armour of the Sontaran who tried to block her. She raced away, feeling dizzy, probably from loss of blood... Eventually, the weakness overtook her, and she collapsed. Instead of hitting the unforgiving floor though, she was cradled in a set of arms. She immediately thought that the tall scarf man must have woken up, because who else might care for her in a place like this? But when she turned to look at the person, she was greeted with sad, beautiful green eyes set into what she found to be an oddly attractive face. The chin was too big, but his smile when he looked at her more than made up for it. "Clara, I've got you." He told her assuredly. "We have to go, they'll kill us!" She replied in alarm, only to discover there were no Sontarans, there was no corridor- only black space. "Where am I?" She asked, suddenly feeling very lost. "You're with me Clara." He told her. "Who is Cla-" She stopped mid question, an impossible realization attempting to take hold in her mind... Terrified, she pushed the green eyed man away..._

There is a dull thud and the sharp snap as the yellow walls around me come back into view, I'm still leaning up against the wall of the bunk, but the Doctor is nowhere to be seen… until I look down… and find him on the floor in a heap…

He scrapes himself up, putting on show of regaining his dignity.

"Um, maybe stop calling me Clara right away when you find me? I know you're trying to bring me back to myself, but it kind of freaks me out every time…" I suggest feebly.

"Okay… Does that mean I am allowed to help?" He replies quickly, tripping over his words like he is scared I will take back what I said. "I promise, I will not touch your memories or your thoughts if I can avoid it. Will you let me help with this?" He asks more slowly.

I swallow hesitantly, but nod my head, steadying myself and standing up.

"You're still scared though." He remarks sadly.

"Yes."

He doesn't say anything in reply, seemingly satisfied with my answer for now, or at least unwilling to push for more.

I had expected him to leap up to the top bed I had made or even to pull up a chair, he doesn't need much sleep, and he has gotten ten hours or so since we left Trenzalore. Instead though, he wedges himself into the bunk I had been sitting on, which is a tad too short for his lanky frame, and then looks at me expectedly to join him… It is a tight fit, I am basically on top of him, but that, that is alright really…

"Okay, maybe bunk beds _aren't_ cool." He says, like he just lost a long standing argument.

"What now?" I ask sleepily.

"I thought the ladder made bunk beds cool, but I am re-evaluating that theory right now..." He mutters quietly, hand beginning to stroke my hair, lulling me into a peaceful doze…

* * *

**A/N: Well that was long, and although there wasn't a lot of action so to speak, quite a bit happened… This is later than I wanted it to be coming, and the next part will be as well. For that I am sorry! Thank you very much for the reviews, I really appreciate hearing from you all!**


	19. Break from the Crowd

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****19 –**_**Break from the Crowd **_

* * *

The slight groan of metal hinges wakes me, one of my eyes sliding open just enough to see the thin crack of light streaming in from the hallway. Beneath me, the Doctor is still fast asleep, one hand resting carefully on the side of my face while his other arm is draped protectively around me. The silhouette of a person peeks around the doorframe for a moment, before they pull back, shutting the door as softly as possible.

"Sorry, this one is taken, but I'm sure one of the other rooms has space." Ria's voice tells someone in a whisper, which is further muffled by the wall between us.

"_Girl_, there are multiple sets of sleeping apparatus in each room, this one cannot be full." Strax replies like a pouting child.

"I didn't say it was _full_. I said it was _taken_." She clarifies.

"London, what are you doing up?" Émeric hisses under his breath.

"Trying to get this one to settle in and preferably not disturb anyone in the process. Now _hush_, both of you. Strax, just pick another room, you'll be fine on your own, I promise you won't get left behind."

Strax's grumbling doesn't take on clear words, but his tiny steps can be heard shuffling farther away, and another door creaks open before slamming shut.

"Subtle." Ria sighs exasperatedly.

"What are yo-"

"What part of 'hush' was lost on you? Come on, back to bed."

"Well if you ins-"

"Remember who still has your keys before you finish that sentence." She suggests with a fake innocence as her quiet stride carries her away, a slight hesitation in her gait still.

Émeric's response is lost on me; they are too far away to hear now. With the noise gone, I tuck my head back down into the Doctor's chest, greeted by his double heartbeat and the feeling of the unfamiliar fabric he is wearing...

_Here she was, Doctor Ilara Swan, watching Professor Wagg receive all manner of adoration for 'his' creation. Somehow, he and the other members of the Institute for Technological Advancement and Research seemed to be under the impression she was lucky to even be present at this party, considering she was supposedly a 'small time contributor' from Britain. Oh yes, she was so very 'small time.' After all, she was only the person who had established the theoretical framework for the beryllium chip which made this Atomic Clock possible in the first place... Ilara sighed, and was about to take another generous sip of her drink when it was almost knocked out of her hands as someone bumped into her from behind. She whipped around; fully prepared to give whoever this was a proper piece of her mind, but her mouth slackened when she saw him. He had long hair that curled slightly, an elaborate waistcoat and an incredibly charming expression. He apologized courteously to her, revealing his accent, and begged her pardon. Ilara noticed his name tag, which obviously didn't belong to him considering he was not in any way shape or form that oaf Professor Wagg, but she didn't say anything about it, instead giving him a coy smile and stepping out of his way. He inclined his head to her and led his companion; a woman she recalled being a member of the Institute, deeper into the crowd. Ilara returned to her drink, wondering what was going on, when another man appeared in front of her, dressed in a set of tails with his long brown hair slicked back… He offered her his hands before he spoke. "Come with me? We need to get back." He said kindly to her. "Back where? Why do I feel like I've met you before?" She asked him, feeling so safe but so confused, taking his hands anyway. Where had her glass gone? Where had the room gone for that matter? "Because you have met me before." He prompted, leading her forward, momentarily stepping them into darkness, but then through a field of tall, burnt orange grass that stretched endlessly around them, blowing in a gentle breeze and brushing softly against her legs. She smiled; there was something about this man that made her inexplicably happy... _

My eyes flutter open, gently, there is no resounding snap, not even a crackle when they do, and I'm greeted by the sight of the Doctor who has a silly grin plastered to his face.

"Better that time?" I ask him timidly, after taking a few steadying breaths.

"Yeah, lots." He says, smile staying in place.

"How did we end up there? That was _Gallifrey_ wasn't it?"

"I pulled us into one of my memories; let you come round slowly in a safe place instead of just forcing you to a realization like I tried before." He explains shyly.

"That way was much more pleasant."

"Good, see if you can sleep a bit more, dawn will be here soon enough, and unlike me I believe Walt is a man with a bit of a reverence for plans and timeliness…"

* * *

Even if I hadn't been watching out of the back of the wagon we'd been bundled into, I would have known the moment we left the city limits, as the bumps and the dust took over from the smooth tracks of the paved streets. The cover over the wagon definitely helps with the heat, which admittedly isn't bad since it is still quite early, but the canvas does limit what we can see. Being at the end of the caravan doesn't help the view either; there is nothing behind us except the trail fading away on the flat horizon and the hazy outline of Estevan off in the distance.

Émeric and the trio of Enforcement Officers who are sitting with us chat amiably enough, though only he seems to direct questions at us, and only polite ones at that. He is curious about us, but I think _someone_ has told him not to pry.

As we roll over something that feels more like a canyon that a pothole, the Doctor's arm snakes around my waist to keep me from tumbling off the bench we are sitting on, and it stays there, holding me in place.

"The TARDIS is really not going to be happy with me after getting knocked about like this _twice_…" He groans apprehensively.

"Well it probably beats being left up on a cloud for who knows how long doesn't it?" I ask, trying to restrain a giggle.

Instead of saying anything, he inspects me carefully, like he is seeking the answer to a question. I had hoped this might stop, since we know why I am impossible now…

"What's that face for?" I ask, snippier than I meant to.

He just shakes his head slightly...

Not long after, Ria comes around the back of the wagon, astride a tall dark horse and leading her own little blue grey mare.

"Clara, you left this in Captain Wolfe's office yesterday after… you know…" She says, tossing the leather jacket I had completely forgotten about into the back of the wagon.

After I thank her, she turns to Émeric, her expression mischievous and a little taunting as she inclines her head to her horse. He regards her for a moment, before beaming at her silent challenge, gracefully hopping out of the back of the moving wagon and much less impressively struggling into the saddle. She leans over, fixing his grip on the reins before giving us a little wave and trotting off again.

"Why do you get the big one?" Émeric whines as he goes to follow her.

"Because Ardist is a lot more forgiving than Duran, she'll get you where you need to go!" She calls back bluntly.

Having come the quick way here, I'm not really sure how long it will take us to get back to Bordure. An hour or so into the journey, I think, we are properly surrounded by the open, dusty prairie once more.

Ria and Émeric fall in behind us now and again, she's making him look like quite the novice, periodically pulling her horse into an impressive prancing step beside him as he struggles, though she always helps him when he looks like he needs it.

Oddly, or perhaps not, he doesn't seem to mind any of it one bit.

When I listen to their laughter and let myself focus on the reassuring arm around my waist, I can almost forget how many problems there are right now… It's easy to just be a little bit happy, thinking about this moment instead of the ones to come.

"Clara?" The Doctor asks, a while after the two of them have disappeared ahead of the wagon again. My answer is cut off as we jerk to a stop, and I hear hooves clattering towards us. The Doctor stands up quickly, blocking me from view despite having to crouch because of the canvas roof over our heads. It's Ria who pulls to a halt behind the wagon though, Émeric catching up to her a few seconds later.

"Someone has a broken axel up ahead, Walt offered them our assistance and asked me to round up some help, can you three come with me?" She asks the Enforcement Officers, who nod and follow her. Émeric stays, dismounting and leaning against the back of the wagon, looking a little out of sorts.

"Remind me how sore I am feeling the next time I try to keep up to her..." He mumbles.

"Are we going to be stopped for a bit?" The Doctor asks him.

"Based on what MacEwan said I would presume so."

The Doctor offers me a hand, and helps me step down to the ground. It's nice to move around a bit, that bench isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, even with the Doctor… The sound of a rider approaching us becomes louder again, and Ria flies around the corner of the wagon, sliding to a stop and looking frightened.

"The people with the broken axel, most of them are high ranking representatives from Étoile Energy; they say they are out here to 'assess a potential investment'… and… they have the Etulians with them… Kelvia, and some of the others." She tells us.

Émeric looks lost as to why any of this is a problem, but the Doctor's face gets dark as he takes one step away from me before Ria forcibly halts him by steering her horse in his way. He frowns at her, before trying to get around her but she blocks him again.

"Doctor, stop, _think_! They don't know who you are, or who Clara is. That thing, the tracker they have, it must only work at short range right? That must have been what Hank and Ramon, who is now apparently dead, scanned you two with on the way to Bordure, remember?"

I had almost forgotten that incident what with all that has happened...

"Beyond giving them that intimidating glare, do you have a plan for what you'd do if I let you go?" She asks.

"No, but I am _very_ good at thinking on my feet." He growls at her.

"Well, I happen to have a plan. Émeric, get your shirt off." She orders, turning to rifle through her saddle bags.

Émeric gazes at me, mouth agape, pointing at her like he wants confirmation I heard the same thing he did.

"Can you repeat that please?" He asks.

"You heard me, here, put these on, I know they'll probably be a bit tight." She grumbles, tossing him the Doctor's abandoned button down shirt and vest, he must have left them in the same room as my coat…

"Ria, what are you doing?" I ask, already having a bad feeling about what her idea is.

"They have seen me somewhere I shouldn't be Clara, and they know _someone_ got me out…" She answers.

"No, not a good plan, in fact a _very_ bad plan." The Doctor garbles out rapidly.

"I don't understand what you are doing, but I want to." Émeric pleads, taking a step closer and putting a wary hand on her arm.

"Hopefully I am pulling someone out of the way again, but this time I need some help, your help, if you'll come with me..?" She asks him, a vulnerability to her tone. He nods calmly and starts working at his Kevlar vest.

"I don't like this idea." I tell her plainly.

"We'll be fine, I blatantly show them I'm here and then disappear, take the scenic route to Bordure. They won't be able to come after us, not without raising suspicion, which Walt has in abundance. But if they see me running away, well, usually you only run when you're guilty... or scared." She reasons.

"Why would you do this?" The Doctor asks her.

"Because I can, because it will help, because they won't be able to catch me, because it will give them someone to focus on and hopefully stop them from just taking random girls and or Clara, take your pick."

"Why are you all like this?" The Doctor asks angrily.

"Like what?"

"_Brave_. You're always _brave_. Someone once asked me how many people have died in my name, I can't honestly tell you, I can't keep track, but that isn't the worst of it, because you're not even dying in _my_ name, you do it for 'the Doctor,' a name I can't even live up to all of the time."

"I'm not dying and this isn't all about you!" She snaps, ire evident in her voice.

"How is it not? This is happening because Clara and I are here, the Etulians want us, it's _my_ fault!"

"You came here, yes, but do you know what you didn't do?"

"What?"

"You didn't make the energy magnates and marketers greedy and selfish. You didn't make them willing to exploit everyone for their own gain. They took advantage of people long before you got here, and they will keep doing so long after you leave!" She asserts, climbing down from her saddle and marching towards him, cutting off his reply.

"And I'm not doing this in _your_ name; I'm doing it in my own. I don't know _who_ you are, but I know _why_ I want to help you both. You are ridiculously protective of the people you love, but you also genuinely care about people you don't know, or have just met, you both try to make things _better_. It's just what you do, and I will help with that if I can." She argues, swallowing before turning to me.

"You've still got that bowtie right?"

"You don't have to do this; we can all just hide back here, they won't notice us, we can think of something else later, trick them maybe…" I try to convince her.

"I know I don't have to. I do too much hiding as is though, might be time to break the habit. You two try and come up with a more long term solution while we're gone okay?"

Émeric finishes buttoning the Doctor's vest, which is indeed too tight across the shoulders for him.

"Congratulations, you are now the Doctor." She tells him, still looking at me as I pull the crumpled bowtie from my pocket and press it into her hand reluctantly.

"Sorry_, _what?"

"There are aliens hunting someone, Clara I think. They don't know that she is who they want though, and they have an interest in me. So, I'm going to make it look like I _am_ the one they want. But, in order to make this convincing… I'll need my own oddly dressed Doctor. Have you seen these two at all? You don't find one without the other, and the Etulians know it." She explains softly, wrapping the silk around his neck, tying it carefully.

"Actually I have been a bit too worried about you to pay much attention to them."

"Good work, you're playing the Doctor's part already." She mutters, getting up onto the dark horse again.

"_Victoria_."

"What?"

"I meant it."

"Come on, get up here and hang on to me…" She tells him, offering her hand. He takes it, and settles behind her, arms wrapping around her waist, probably tighter than is strictly necessary, not that I would know anything about that...

"See you in Bordure then." She says to us uneasily, looking at the Doctor.

"We'll see you there." He promises.

"Keep each other safe." I add hurriedly.

"I wouldn't make a very good you if I didn't do that would I?" She chuckles tensely, wheeling the horse about and thundering off.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, hey look, we've got Clara and the Doctor all by themselves...**


	20. Straddle the Line

**Health and Safety: Chapter ****20 – **_**Straddle the Line**_

* * *

The Doctor's composure breaks a little with Ria and Émeric gone, leaving the two us alone, or close enough to alone, no one else out here being anywhere near us now. Well, except for the wagon driver, but he seemed like he was nodding off even before we left, looked like he had a bit of a rough night, which only affirms my worry about safe driving practices making it to the future...

The Doctor's conflicted expression betrays a sense of worry as he leans forward; bracing himself against the edge of the wagon with his hands, back to the plain.

"What's in a name anyways I suppose?" He asks, in a way that suggests he isn't expecting me to answer him.

"She is right though Doctor, you can't blame yourself for this. We've all made our own choices, the Etulians have, the people here have, Ria and Émeric have, and I have, all for our own reasons. The Etulians want to keep their planet alive. The people who are helping them are doing it for profit. Ria is trying to help us, Émeric wants to help her. And I certainly didn't go into your time stream 'in the name of the Doctor.' I did it for _you_, because… "

I did it because I love him. A thought that seems to be slipping out easier…

Luckily he seems too intent on the grain of the wood he's staring down at to notice I didn't finish what I was saying, and he doesn't appear to be waiting for me to continue. I hesitate for a moment, watching him, before approaching cautiously from behind, wrapping my arms around his chest and letting my chin rest on his shoulder. With him hunched over like this, I don't have to reach up to him for once.

He makes a contented noise at the contact, which steels my resolve…

I keep my chin stay on his shoulder for a moment longer, before turning my head, letting my funny nose brush against his cheek, tracing my way up to his ear, ignoring the fact that his chest has stopped rising and falling under my hands, and that his hammering hearts seem determined to make up for the stillness of his lungs...

My movement stops when my mouth is right by his ear, and I whisper softly to him, letting his _real_ name roll off of my tongue like a song.

It's the first time I have said it out loud, not just to him- but at all.

"You knew it, my name, when we were outside the doors to my tomb; you had remembered finding it…" He sighs peacefully.

"Yeah…" I murmur, letting my chin drop to his shoulder again and leaning into his back.

"The Whisperman was going to kill you… It was reaching for your _heart_. It would have stopped it."

"I know."

"You could have said my name then, opened my tomb, _no one_ would have thought less of you for that."

"No one?"

"I wouldn't have." He promises.

"I can think of someone who would have thought less of me if I'd done that."

"Who?" He asks, genuinely curious. I can't see his face, but I can imagine the furrow of his brow, mind trying to work out something he doesn't understand.

"Myself." I answer plainly.

He chuckles roughly, turning slightly and tickling my forehead with his fringe.

"Oh Clara, _my_ Clara."

"Am I?" I ask abruptly, feeling unsure of if I am allowed to, or specifically if I should have allowed myself to.

"Are you what?"

"Y_our_ Clara… you keep saying that... and you didn't use to…"

He hesitates, obviously picking his next words with care, making me feel like I really _shouldn't_ have asked.

"Do you remember what you told me? About why you wanted to remember my name, my real name?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, when I… when I say _my_ Clara, it means that what you chose to do is important, but you need to know that you are more than just _impossible_. You are a person, a person who made the choice to do what you did, to become who you are. You, Clara Oswald, _my_ Clara, are unique in all the universes and are utterly irreplaceable to _me_."

What do I say to that? I lift my head off of his shoulder so I can look at him. Being back to front we have had most of this conversation without being able to properly see each other...

But I can see his eyes now, and there's something about them that makes me feel almost unnerved. There are times when he certainly knows how powerful his gaze can be, but times like this I really do think he forgets…

"_My_ Doctor." I settle on, the words coming out easily now that I've chosen them.

Because I know all of his faces, even the one he hides from himself, the one he won't call the Doctor, but this is the first face I saw, well sort of… It would be fitting for the person who hates endings that it will always be _impossible_ to tell where our beginning is, and where our end will be too. But regardless, this will always be the face I fell in love with. I'm not ready for him to know that yet, at least not know it in the sense of me telling him outright, but that doesn't make it any less true.

He takes advantage of my face being off his shoulder to turn fully and stand up to his proper height, hands rising to cup my cheek and settle on my back as my arms rest on his chest instead of remaining locked around him. His eyes keep darting up and down my face, eyes to lips, and back again... It's a familiar motion; one I've caught myself doing on more than one occasion.

Several occasions actually…

Not that I was ever counting…

And not that I'm doing it right now either…

His dance stops as his head snaps back around to the wagon, which confuses me for a moment before I feel him tipping backwards, pulling me with him. He must have still been leaning against the wagon, and it has started lurching forward…

We topple off of our feet, a hot cloud of dust puffing up around us as the wagon grinds to a halt again a few feet away, and the groggy voice of the driver can be heard trying to soothe the horses. The Doctor spared me from the worst of the fall, since he was the one who hit the ground first and I landed squarely on top of him.

At first he looks disgruntled, but then he smiles warily, looking back up at me, eyes seeming to begin flitting again of their own accord.

"We can't blame my bustle this time." I murmur at him, unmoving and unsure if I actually want to divert his attention at the moment… His finger hooks under my chin, forcing me to look right at him.

"_We_ have _never_ had a time to blame this on your bustle Clara." He says, voice a low rumble, the hand resting on my back holding me a little bit tighter…

He pushes himself up slightly, accidentally brushing our noses…

Oh this is a possibly very bad plan… But it is a plan, and people always have plans right..?

I let one hand sneak up to reach behind his neck and grip it softly, giving him every chance to stop me or to push away… When he doesn't, I gently, almost _fearfully_, brush my lips against his. He doesn't flap about, or point accusingly at me, or squirm at all this time. Instead his arms stay in place as he works against my lips with his own, equally hesitant at first, but when we both figure out that the other isn't running anywhere, the hesitancy fades away as his fingers find the back of my head and weave into my hair, his lips parting…

_I think you just did._

_You kissed me!_

_You blushed._

_And… with… just… Shut up!_

The Doctor's voice calls out with horror, echoing strangely, but getting closer. I feel like I'm falling for a moment, and my eyes open with the crack I'd hoped not to hear again... He's rolled me off of him, and I'm lying on my back in the dirt with him hovering over me, looking utterly terrified. Unable, or possibly just _unwilling_ to look at him, I roll onto my side, trying to collect my dignity.

_Now_?

That.

Had.

To.

Happen.

_Now_?

Ahhhh!

He tugs me back to face him, eyes boring into me.

"I'm sorry, Clara, _Clara Oswald_, listen to me, look at me, Clara this is _real_, this is the real _you_."

"I _know_ that." I scoff, feeling embarrassed and annoyed all at the same time.

"I'm not sure you do…" He edges.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw what you were seeing Clara, but… more importantly… You keep mirroring that echo; you have been since I took you back to the Maitland's."

"I don't pick which me I end up seeing memories of Doctor."

"Not which _you_ Clara, which _echo_ of yourself. But that's not what I meant; I'm not talking about when you get caught up in your head. _You_ are actually _mirroring_ her, things that she said, things that _I_ said to her."

"You said that Oswin was me, doesn't that make her, _Clara Oswin Oswald,_ doesn't that make her me too? Why is this a problem?"

"Clara, to use your own words, you are the recipe, they are the soufflés. Them being you does not make you them." He explains, very slowly, tucking a stray bit of my hair before continuing softly. "It doesn't work both ways, it can't. They are a reflection of you; you can't be a reflection of them."

"Why was the sound back? Why wasn't it gentle like this morning?" I ask, definitely trying to divert him now.

"Because you were much farther gone, and that memory is of me, well, this body of me. I don't know how to ease you out of that; I can't do it like the other memories. I don't know what would happen if there was two of this me at once, how would you know which _me_ was real if you don't even know which you is real?" He asks desperately.

The fact that I don't immediately have a good reply for that frightens me.

"I wasn't expecting you could answer Clara, I just want you to _think_ about it." He says tenderly as he stands up and offers me a hand to my feet.

A little ways away, Ria's horse, who had been left with us but forgotten this whole time, whinnies loudly.

"Yes, thank you for your opinion Ardist." The Doctor tells her gruffly.

She shakes her head at him, snorting, and he suddenly looks embarrassed.

"Well, yes I suppose that's true when you put it like that..."

He is talking to a horse. He is having a _conversation_ with a horse… And you know what? It doesn't surprise me. Probably should, but somehow it doesn't…

"What do you mean leaving?" He asks in alarm, whipping around to find our wagon is beginning to roll forward slowly again.

He grabs my hand, pulling me with him as he breaks into a run, an easy jog for him but a little more hurried for me with my shorter legs. As we catch up, he effortlessly lifts me and sets me down on the floor, then leaps in himself, flashing me a childish grin before sitting up, letting his legs dangle out the over the edge.

"Thanks." He mumbles wearily to the horse, who is ambling along behind us of her own accord.

"Is it bad that you being silly has stopped surprising me?"

"Possibly?"

"Not that there is anything wrong with silly or we wouldn't still be talking."

"Clara!"

"What?"

"You don't even realize you're doing it do you?" He asks incredulously.

"Doing what?"

"The mirroring."

I shake my head, scuttling closer to him and letting my feet dangle out the back of the wagon too.

"We have to be careful Clara."

"I know we'll figure something out to sort the Etulians."

"Not what I meant… They aren't the only thing I'm afraid I might lose you to." He says ominously.

"I'm not going anywhere without you." I promise, leaning into him from the side and letting my fingers thread through his.

Because I'm not, because I don't walk out on the people I care about, because Ria was right, we are both ridiculously protective of the people we-

Of the people _we_ love.


	21. Keep your Friends Close

**Health and Safety: Chapter 21 – _Keep your Friends Close_**

* * *

Unintentionally, or at least I will claim it's unintentional, my grip on his hand becomes a little tighter at that thought.

The people _we_ love…

I can feel the Doctor's body turn slightly even though I'm not looking at him, his free hand coming up to my forehead, grazing over it as if he is checking for a fever.

"I'm okay, just thinking." I assure him before he has a chance to ask.

He waits for a moment, mouth hanging open from his unasked query.

"You know that sometimes it is perfectly alright to _not_ be okay, right?"

"Now might not be such a great time though..."

"Timing can be everything, but we don't always get to pick our times to feel things, even when we think we really shouldn't." He muses, letting his heels click together as they dangle over the back of the wagon.

"So, plan, we are supposed to be working on one of those, like Ria asked us to."

"Right, and I am working on it." He says as he pulls the sonic out. One of his fingers strokes the back of my knuckles before he eases out of my grasp, apparently needing both hands for whatever he's up to.

"The TARDIS is going to be properly cross with me for this, but I'll be getting an earful already; what is a bit more, right?" He asks, grimacing at the thought of his snogbox's displeasure.

"As long as she takes it out on _you_ and not me." I quip in reply.

He laughs at that, before gently turning the end of the sonic a few degrees to the left, holding it up to his ear. He taps it a couple times, before making a flustered noise. This tinkering and disgruntled noise pattern continues for a while, before he finally makes a triumphant 'ha' as something audibly clicks into place.

He flourishes the sonic, and flips back the end to reveal the red button , turning to grin at me as he does.

"And what can we do now that we couldn't do before?" I ask curiously. That thing has never seemed to have much by way of limits before, unlocking, scanning, beating back sound wavy things…

"Now, we are going to absolutely scramble any device that can pick up on Artron Energy within a five mile radius. Like I said, the TARDIS isn't going to be happy, and will be grounded for at least the next twelve hours while she sorts herself out. _But_ if it takes the old girl that long to right herself, imagine how bad it would be for something significantly less magnificent, yes?" His optimism at the end seems a little forced, like he genuinely needs me to agree with him about this.

"There's something else you haven't told me isn't there?"

He rocks his head back and forth, rolling his eyes.

"There is also a very high probability I am about to totally blow the circuits of the screwdriver. It's not supposed to be able to do this strictly speaking, but, well, I've managed without it before, here is hoping I can do it again… At least this way, Victoria's ruse will be more convincing considering they won't be able to play their scanning trick anymore."

So that's it then, his hesitation, he is about to probably destroy the only possession I've seen him carry, except for his TARDIS key and those glasses he wore a while back. Come to think of it I haven't seen them since Akhaten…

"Geronimo?" I propose, reaching up to place my thumb over the red button, awaiting the go ahead.

"Geronimo." He agrees, holding the device steady.

As I put pressure on the button, the whine vibrates loudly and the end glows an unfamiliar florescent blue. The screwdriver soon is wobbling in protest, making the Doctor reach up his other hand to keep control of it; this is a two person job after all…

Somewhere ahead of us, there comes a sound akin to that of a light bulb burning out, if the light bulb was roughly the size of a Christmas tree… At that exact moment, as the Doctor's face cracks into a grin, the sonic sputters, flickering on and off twice, before it begins to shower the air with sparks. The Doctor pulls my hand away, and tosses the sonic out of the wagon onto the dusty trail, where it flashes a few more times before exuding smoke and going dark.

The Doctor gets a melancholic look in his eyes, like he just lost a friend. Which he sort of has I suppose.

"No bowtie, no sonic screwdriver, a time machine that won't work, what are you still keeping me around for Clara?" He jokes, veiling his actual concern with attempted humor.

"For the big chin and really nice hugs of course. The time travel and seemingly magical tools are just a fringe benefit."

"My chin is _not_ that large." He protests in mock defense, a smile crinkling the sides of his mouth.

"I can think of someone who went as far as to call you 'Chin Boy.'"

He runs his eyes over me again, in that same question-seeking manner as he had been, though there is a speck of approval to it this time.

"But _you_ haven't ever called me that, have you?"

He emphasized 'you,' quite blatantly…

"Try to think about it." He coos gently, twining our fingers again. His hand is hot from where he held the sonic screwdriver, hot enough to have burnt human skin. But then, he isn't human. He makes a little sound to remind me of his question, which I had unintentionally distracted myself from… I'm doing a lot of things unintentionally right now it would seem.

"No, I haven't called you that have I?" I ask, which probably isn't what he wanted, me questioning my own answer… But while I _think_ I'm right, there is still that niggling feeling that I might be wrong. It's like second guessing answers on an exam all over again.

"No, you haven't, _Oswin_ did." He affirms contently, before dropping a kiss on my cheek, a little closer to my mouth than might be called 'usual.'

"So, what's the next part of our plan?"

"Not sure yet, messing with everyone's technology was about as far as I got to be honest."

"You can always walk up to them and ask to be taken to their leader." I tease.

"Tried it, doesn't always work so well. Also, we might disagree on who the leader really is, since oddly that distinction isn't always so obvious..."

* * *

Being the last group in the train, all of the other Enforcement Officers and the handful of paramedics they have brought with them are already standing in a formation on the street in front of Detective Inspector Amal and Walt by the time the Doctor and I roll into the center of Bordure.

"Doctor, we've got the TARDIS back where we hid her last time." Jenny says, appearing as the Doctor helps me down. Ardist, who followed us all the way back, plods along down the little side street, back to the stable of her own accord.

"How is she?" The Doctor asks nervously.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asks, obviously confused as to his meaning.

"Well-"

"He thinks the TARDIS will be angry with him." I answer for him.

"Right…" Jenny replies hesitantly.

"Better get this over with." The Doctor says in a resigned tone, making a start for the little back street and the stable. He makes it a few feet before knocking shoulder to shoulder with someone quite tall, sending them both staggering back.

"You had best watch yourself _earthling_." A bitter and familiar voice grunts at him as they both regain their balance.

My heart sinks; the voice belongs to Naveesis, the creep with Kelvia, who is right beside him.

They weren't just talking about investigating something out on the prairie, they meant right _in_ town... Ria is going to waltz back in here, and they'll be waiting, they won't have to go find her.

Instead of telling them that he isn't from Earth, the Doctor takes a step out of their path, motioning politely for them to carry on their way. Kelvia huffs, glaring at us before striding along.

"Any word on Jocaal and the others? Have they found that blasted girl yet? She can't have gotten far." She asks Naveesis.

"No word Captain, yet." He replies.

"Well, this complicates things…" The Doctor gulps.

"We need to make sure someone catches Victoria and Émeric before they just trot right in here on their own." I assert quickly.

"We can do that Doctor, there's only two ways into the town. Madam and I can keep watch on one, and Strax can take the other right?" Jenny offers.

"Okay, but be very careful yourselves, this isn't good, there is nowhere to hide here, too little space, this is really going to get complicated." The Doctor worries, eyes flicking back and forth, obviously reassessing whatever thoughts he had about how to make this work.

"Doctor?" I ask, trying to bring him back as Jenny runs to find her wife and their butler.

"We need to find out how Victoria might be trying to get here , who would know that?"

"Walt, Daniel, maybe Hikaru?" I suggest.

"I don't want to deal with Walt right now, so Hikaru it is." He says, sweeping up my hand and making for the old hotel.

Across the street, the half doors to the saloon have been propped open, and the cowering bartender waddles out, carrying a crate which he drops clumsily on the front walkway. He looks over his shoulder in fright expectedly.

"Larry Dean Alejandro Thompson! You's lucky that that glass was already broken! If it weren't Betman would have had your hide, and I would have a go at whatever was left of you! Hurry up; we gotta get the upper booths cleared for that pompous off worlder!" A rough female voice, likely belonging to someone who has smoked for a decade or so shouts out to him.

"Yes my sweet." He answers meekly, heaving the box back into his grasp and continuing around the corner of the building.

As we step onto the front stairs of Hikaru's converted hotel, a new sign, which had certainly not been there when we departed, catches my attention. In large hand painted letters it proclaims 'building for sale, see inside for details.' That doesn't make any sense to me, but what doesn't make sense is a rather long list right now and reality isn't very high on it…

The grumpy cook who tried to deny the Doctor food the day before directs us to an office on the second floor, where we find Hikaru reclining comfortably in a leather chair and sipping tea from one of her fine cups. This room is utterly mismatched with the rest of the building; whereas all the other walls we've seen are simple wood, this room is lined with a sophisticated black and white wall paper, decked with impressionist paintings and lacquered plates.

Despite facing the door, Hikaru doesn't notice us straight away , as her undivided attention is on the guest sitting in her office, obscured from our view by the high back of the chair.

"Doctor Smith, Clara, we didn't expect to see you back so soon." She says happily once we step in a bit farther, interrupting her conversation and setting her cup down on it s saucer.

"Change of plans, happens more than I like to admit." The Doctor tells her.

"Please, let me introduce my guest to you. This is Margrave Solland, you came into town with some of his fellows, and his human business partners." She says, gesturing to the chair.

The person sitting with his back to us pushes the seat out, and stands with an easy grace as he faces us.

The Doctor's arm is around me in an instant. Standing before us is another Etulian, older than the ones we had met in the warehouse. There are faint aged lines on his sculpted face, and tiredness to his eyes, but he still has the inhumane beauty and an air of authority as well.

"Please, there is no need for that sir, and no need to use proper titles Ms. Shun. I have waited a very long time to meet you my dear, a very long time indeed." He says to me in a deep voice.

* * *

**A/N: I am SO sorry that I have been gone so long! Life has gotten incredibly hectic. I also made the mistake of starting another very different story which distracted me from working on this one a bit. Whoops... Hopefully you can forgive me! To the lovely anon reviewer, my best guess is that there are 8-10 chapters left to go here, but I'm not finished editing/writing yet so that number could easily change. The next few chapters do exist in a draft form though, so hopefully I can get the rest of this to you all in a timelier manner. All non-anon reviewers, I am sorry if my replies/thanks came to you garbled, happened to be having major issues with its PM system when I sent those!**

**Finally, I need to say a BIG thank you to the ever amazing spaceslayer (formerly known as internalspatialdistortion) over on tumblr for the fantastic new cover image! **


	22. And Your Enemies Closer

**Health and Safety: Chapter 22 – _And Your Enemies Closer_**

* * *

Solland takes a step towards us, but makes no threatening motion, offering the Doctor his hand instead.

"Please, I am not that wretch Kelvia. I am Solland Sollran, the Margrave of the Sun. I stand before you as a gentleman, and will deal with you both as such." He protests, appearing offended by our reaction to him.

"So you're going to ask nicely for someone to be sacrificed as your new power source instead of kidnapping them? How noble of you." The Doctor retorts, leaving Solland's hand untouched.

"As I said, I am _not_ Kelvia. Her methods were absurd, especially when she need only have secured my landing as instructed."

"And why would things have been any different? You both want the same thing, don't you?" I ask, stepping from around the Doctor's shoulder.

"There would have been no needless body snatching were I consulted properly to begin with, because I would have known you the moment I saw you, my dear." He says reverently, giving me a sweeping bow, observing me carefully. I can almost _feel_ the weight of his eyes on me, examining my clothing, my posture, my face… taking in every aspect of my appearance like he's committing it to memory.

"Solland, what is going on here?" Hikaru interrupts, sounding concerned.

"Nothing less than the salvation of my home: this remarkable woman is the key to it all." His voice comes out just above a whisper as his eyes stop roaming and fix on mine. I want to move away, or try to guard myself against his stare, but there is something almost transfixing about the way he's looking at me. It's unsettling- no, _predatory_, but I can't seem to _move_.

"You will not touch her." The Doctor promises, each word hanging in the air like a threat.

"Might you possibly wait to bully me until you have properly introduced yourself sir?" Solland asks, almost tiredly, as if the Doctor isn't worth his time. His eyes grudgingly leave me for the briefest of moments, and I find my feet shuffling closer to the Doctor again, using his body as a shield. One of the Doctor's hands runs over my wrist, fingers locking with mine.

"I thought you said you knew us immediately." The Doctor challenges, free hand briefly twitching for his bowtie before he remembers it isn't there.

"I said I would have recognized the _lady_ immediately, but not by name. Her beauty was immortalized by my great-great grandfather in his finest work, a relic of my family, passed down through generations. He crafted it after providence led him to her, and her glorious box, nestled in an irrelevant suburb on Earth of all places. Your power, my dear, destroyed all scanners my forbears had. You are a _miracle_, and it gave them the impossible idea that you could be _our_ miracle. If you could retain such energy, and if your ship could orbit our dying sun, why could you not be our salvation? The answer to our lost light? What is more powerful than the energy of time?" He reasons excitedly, teetering on the edge of composure and in a rush before anyone has time to interject. The Doctor's hold on my hand tightens, which makes me notice my arm had been quivering…

"So, my ancestors returned home, and the brilliant minds of our race began work. We have been searching for you for nearly four hundred years; long enough to complete the Artron Engine. Now all we need is its _heart_." He finishes in a hushed tone, eyes straining around the Doctor to bore into me again.

Wait, did he call the TARDIS _my_ ship? And say that they'd seen her before?

"As I said, you will not touch her." The Doctor reasserts.

Solland takes a step to the side of the Doctor, briefly regarding him with distaste as he stops to leave me under his sight again. "We have no intention to _harm_ our salvation sir! No, she would simply be placed into a tranquil state, dreaming for eternity. We offer her immortality sir, and safety! She defines our past, our hope, and will be our future!"

"You call putting someone into a permanent coma, lost inside their own mind _not_ harming them?" The Doctor growls, sounding disgusted.

"Yeah, can't say I'm too keen on the idea." I say in a smaller voice than I wanted to. If that happened, I probably wouldn't be dreaming, I would be _remembering_: living and dying across time and space all over again. I'd be lost forever; in a place no one could come and find me, not even my Doctor.

"Dear lady, please, may I know your name? And your guard's as well?" Solland implores, open hands reaching for me seemingly of their own accord as his body stays put, still disregarding the bristling Time Lord.

"You call _me_ the Doctor." He informs him darkly.

Solland's eyes don't leave me for a second. His expression sours as I remain silent, breath becoming audible as his chest rises and falls in anticipation of my reply. Part of me doesn't know why I'm not telling him; how much difference can knowing my name make at this point? And it might be worth it if only to make him stop _looking_ at me…

"Take a walk Doctor; we can have a proper conversation when you calm down. Thank you Hikaru for the most excellent tea, it is certainly one of your world's credits. Now, if you will all excuse me, I ought to locate my ill-mannered countrywoman. She and I have much to speak about." Solland grumbles, tearing his eyes off of me and strutting towards the door.

"Do you now?" The Doctor asks, sounding almost amused.

"Indeed, she has her agents running across this wasteland after some perfectly unimportant girl and her tag along. Friends of yours I am assuming?"

"Very _important_ friends." The Doctor contradicts bitterly.

"Well, Kelvia is a new breed of political riff raff, those extremists, crying out that we cannot go on the way we are. We have endured thanks to our ingenuity; it will not fail us now. We have no need to change our tactics."

"You just said that change was what kept you going, but then said you don't need it." I point out, my voice returned to me now that I'm not under Solland's watch.

That's all the encouragement he needs for his eager gaze to find mine again.

"All we need my dear, is you."

I really don't understand. They're just words, right? But it's his eyes that tell a different story: they're making a promise. They're saying _no matter where you are, or how far you run, I will always find you… _

"I shall call off the mad dogs Doctor, if that will endear me enough for us to converse properly in a short while. You won't be going far in the meantime." He calls back calmlyevenly, closing the door behind him.

The Doctor remains stiff even with him gone, keeping an iron grip on my hand.

"You are going to tell me what he meant about Ria." Hikaru demands.

"She's helping us." He answers noncommittally.

"That isn't telling me much."

The Doctor rakes a hand through his hair, giving Hikaru his consideration.

"If she wanted to lose someone, take 'the scenic' route into Bordure, do you know how she would do it?"

"She could take dozens of ways."

"Wonderful." The Doctor replies vaguely, dragging me towards the door as Hikaru shouts after us.

"What are you doing?" I ask tersely, not liking being dragged along.

He says nothing, walking more quickly if anything, down the stairs again and out the side door.

"Doctor, you need to explain what just happened." I insist, trying to pull him to a halt.

Jenny is just shutting the doors of the stable as we come closer.

"Doctor, the Madam and Strax are keeping an eye out like you asked." She tells him confidently.

He is about to reply when Walt's gruff voice calls for our attention.

"You two, I need to speak to you." He barks from the main street, arms crossed and a frown set on his face.

"Jenny, listen to me okay?" The Doctor implores.

"What's wrong?"

"I need you to take this, find Vastra and Strax, and get into the TARDIS." He tells her, dropping his key into her hand.

"What do I need this for, we've got one Doctor."

"It's not that you need to have one, it's that I need to _not_ have one. Stay in the TARDIS, do not open those doors for anyone except us, and only if we're alone or with Victoria."

"Doctor, what's wrong?"

"A lot of things, but right now I _need_ you to protect the TARDIS for me. Wait till Walt is preoccupied with us, then go." He instructs. Jenny nods cautiously in response, and the key disappears in her hand like a magician with a coin.

"Doctor, what is going on?" I hiss, tired of being ignored.

He faces me fully, hands finding my shoulders, gripping them softly.

"You and the TARDIS: you're both a part of their history it would seem, living legends. I can't let them get their hands on either of you, but we can't run Clara."

"Doctor Smith, I am _waiting_." Walt calls roughly again.

The Doctor looks down at the Marshal, then back down at me, hand coming up to cup my cheek.

"I'm so sorry Clara; I've stranded us, not that we could abandon Victoria either, but-"

"Doctor Smith!"

"We'll be okay." I assure him, hands coming up to rest on his outstretched arms in an attempt to steady us both. I think I needed to hear myself say that too…

"_Now_ Smith!"

"Shall we?" I ask the Doctor.

He nods, offering his arm, walking side by side with me towards the main and only street in town.

"What can we do for you?" He asks Walt pleasantly.

"Tell me where Ria is, and tell me who you are." Walt orders, attracting the attention of several passersby.

"Victoria is on her way here with Émeric. They'll look out for each other." The Doctor answers calmly.

"Why the hell would she be out there on her own? What did you say to make her leave?"

"We didn't say anything; she did it on her own, and the Doctor just told you she _wasn't_ alone."

"You obviously did something to make her go. Who are you? Amal couldn't find any record of your appointment. She's a Detective Inspector for a reason _Doctor_ Smith, she can find _anyone_."

"We're not your enemies." The Doctor replies.

"You've conned a young girl into helping you fulfill your ends, and sent her off on her own while there is a rash of kidnapping going on. I think that puts you on my bad side!" He roars.

The Doctor inches forward into Walt's personal space. The two glower at each other, and I see Jenny slip away while Walt's attention is very much fixed on the Doctor, as is everyone on the street at this point…

"So take us in then." The Doctor says calmly a few seconds later, visibly backing down.

"What?" Walt barks.

"You think we are impersonating government agents, so take us in and lock us up in your well protected cells. Keep us in a safe spot until you know what to do with us."

Really Doctor? You _want_ him to take us in?

His gaze lowers to me, silently asking if I understand, to which I give a confused nod. I wouldn't say I understand _why_ he is doing it, but I know what he is doing…

"Well if you're volunteering, please, come with me." Walt finally huffs, extending an arm in mock courtesy.

* * *

There seems to be one major fault in the Doctor's plan of getting us locked up together.

And that is we strictly speaking aren't locked up _together_.

There are two separate cells: Walt shoved the Doctor into one, and me into the other…

The Doctor is not happy about that to say the least, but after handing ourselves over there wasn't much he could do about it - especially without the sonic screwdriver. The cells aren't horrible: the barred windows offer us a glimpse of the main street; we both have tiny cots, and a bench along the wall. I sit, leaning against the row of bars separating us, while the Doctor stays pressed against his window, watching every coming and going intently.

"So, why exactly did you ask for this to happen?"

"Solland can't corner us to 'talk' more while we're in here..."

"What did he mean about the TARDIS, how she orbited their dying sun?"

"She did, a very long time ago now." He says painfully, his eyes drawing closed.

"What sent you there?" I ask carefully.

"I had to say goodbye to someone..." He whispers, abandoning his vigil at the window and sitting next to me. Pushing against the bars, his hand sneaks through the gap to lace with mine.

"Did you manage to?"

He nods, looking at me with saddened eyes.

"I'm glad, that you got to I mean, not that you had to." I say, resenting the steel between us a bit more than before. Whoever this was, they must have been really… special… to him… River had insisted that he doesn't like endings. That he keeps running, not towards things, but away from them.

But then, he'd said goodbye to me once too, held my hand while I died right in front of him… He didn't have to come back to Captain Latimer's study; he _could_ have run away from that moment instead of towards it.

"I'm glad I did too." He agrees softly.

We stay like this, leaning into the metal separating us for some time. Walt marches in periodically, ire evident on his face every time. The way he steps into the room, it's like he expects us to have vanished. On his fifth trip in, he carries a pair of tin mugs and sets them on the floor for us. The Doctor stands carefully, flexing one leg, which must have been cramped from the way he was sitting.

"Hikaru warned us about Betman's lack of appreciation for tea; she neglected to warn us about Walter." He says lightly after taking a sip, making an exaggerated face of disgust.

Getting to my own feet and taking a sip, I quite agree. The metallic tang of the cup on my tongue isn't helping either.

There is a clunk from the other room as Walt swings his boots up onto his desk.

"Blame Troves - for all his fancy schooling he sure can't cook." He tells us, giving his own cup a reproachful look.

The other Marshal in question has been absent since we got here, but when I'm halfway through my tea, he comes shouting in the front door.

"I found her Walter, about a mile out. Doesn't look like anyone's chasing them right now, but some of those off worlders are gathering on the street." Daniel calls to his partner, which has Walt up in seconds, grabbing his hat and a rifle before slamming the door shut behind the both of them.

The Doctor and I share a look before making a dash to the windows. I have to hold myself up by the bars, being a bit too short to see street level otherwise. Within a few minutes, Ria and Émeric come into sight, going at an easy pace, obviously not feeling pressed. They don't know who is just waiting for them…

She slows the horse to a walk when they get into the town, ambling down the street.

Kelvia struts into view, flanked by Naveesis, Jocaal, and several other large Etulians, blocking the whole road off.

Ria pulls to a stop in front of them, looking defiantly at Kelvia as Émeric sits up a little straighter, his arm around her waist shifting to pull her close.

"You are rather frustrating." Kelvia jeers.

"Oh she can be incredibly frustrating, doesn't make me like her any less though." Émeric replies candidly.

"According to His Right Thorn in Our Side, you two are nothing more than insignificant, ordinary humans." Naveesis goads at them.

"I wouldn't say ordinary; we're both a bit odd, but very human, yes." Ria agrees.

"So you've been one colossal waste of my time, and I don't like having my time wasted." Kelvia snarls.

"Well _I_ don't like your tone, so I'd appreciate you getting off my street." Walt calls in response, emerging out of a shadow.

Jocaal eyes him up, while Émeric slides down from behind Ria, putting himself between her and the Etulians. Kelvia gives all three of them one last glare, before flipping her hand, directing her thugs to come with her and disappearing back the way they came.

Émeric visibly relaxes, edging closer to Ria again. They share quiet words that I can't hear, and his hand finds its way to rest on her leg. She nods her head, casting a wary glance at Walt, who is still staring in the direction the Etulians retreated. A few more words are exchanged, and the Frenchman gives her leg a gentle squeeze before striding away with a reluctant gait.

"Thank you." Ria says genuinely to Walt, climbing down from her saddle and leading the horse over to him.

"What were you doing?" He replies brusquely.

"Acting as a distraction, I'm a fairly agile decoy with Duran. Thanks for the loan by the way." She says brightly, patting the horse.

"You ran off into the plains to act as a _decoy_ for those two imposters?" He roars.

"Imposters?"

"Yes, _imposters_. I've got them sitting in the cells right now until I can figure out what to do with them."

"Not a good plan! You can't keep Clara trapped right now, it's not safe for her!" Ria protests.

"So it was her you were protecting?"

"Yes, mild resemblance, it was enough; not anymore apparently, Kelvia seems to know they don't want me..." Ria answers distractedly, seeming to be stuck on the fact that Walt has us locked up.

He regards her for a moment, his face squaring into a resigned grimace as he takes a deep breath.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I'm taking you into protective custody. You can stay safe in the office until this all blows over."

Ria gives him a half amused smile, like he must be kidding her.

"You're not taking me anywhere. Walt, we need the Doctor and Clara - they're trying to help us." She asserts.

Daniel steps out of a concealed place, clearly ready to back up his partner had things gone badly.

"Well, we could simply arrest for failure to uphold regulations this morning." He offers smugly.

"What?"

"You rode between Estevan and Bordure this morning Miss London, did you not?"

"You know I did, _Mister_ Troves."

"And did you or did you not carry a functional firearm as defined by the Protection of Energy Assets Act, half way through the terms of reference, bottom paragraph, third line?" He asks her, echoing her citation of the legislation to him.

"I wasn't doing a contract run!" She protests quickly.

"So no then, you did not."

"What part of _not on a contract run_ didn't you understand?"

"Well, you can argue that at your hearing, when it convenes in a few weeks or so. But unless someone makes bail for you, that leaves you stuck with us till then." Daniel informs her.

Walt puts a hand hesitantly on Ria's shoulder but she pulls away angrily.

"_Really_? The time you two are picking to work together has to be _now_?" She asks exasperatedly.

"It would seem so, Miss London." Daniel confirms.

"Come on Ria, just come with us." Walt almost begs, reaching for her again.

"No." She says firmly, shoving his hand away.

"Are you actually going to resist arrest?" Daniel asks mockingly.

"No, but I am going to make you actually arrest me." Ria informs him stubbornly, offering her wrists.

"You can't be serious." Walt groans.

"Oh I'm very serious. You want to do this? You're going to have to do it properly."

"Ria, come on, let's just make this easy okay?" Walt pleads softly.

"Walter MacEwan, there is _nothing_ about _arresting_ me that should be _easy_ for you! Especially when you're just doing it to make yourself feel better." She seethes.

His mouth twitches and sets into a snarl, teeth clenched as he reaches to his belt, unclips a set of handcuffs and steps stiffly behind her.

"Victoria London, you are under arrest for violation of the Protection of Energy Assets Act, do you understand this?"

"Considering I taught your intellectually insecure partner which articles to charge me with, I think I do yeah."

"You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. We will provide you with a toll-free telephone lawyer referral service, if you do not have your own lawyer. Anything you say can be used in court as evidence. Do you understand? Would you like to speak to a lawyer?" Walt asks mechanically.

"I already understand how absurd your legal basis for this is on my own, thanks." She grumbles as her hands are locked behind her back.

"Well, you don't count as counsel, Miss London. You didn't finish school." Daniel reminds her.

"Thank you for _never_ letting me forget that." She snaps wearily.

* * *

**A/N: I feel horrible about forgetting to properly welcome and thank my newly volunteered beta, the ever wonderful D Veleniet, in last chapter's author's note, a mistake I shall correct presently. In this headache of balancing a massive cast of canon characters and OC's, I can't say how much I'm appreciating you taking the time to look things over with me, catching what I miss, encouraging me to go farther than I thought I could, and asking questions about people & things that I hadn't thought of. Thank you so much DV! **


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